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THE 



CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS IN ROBIE 



BY THE 



\^ 



REV. V/M. INGRAHAM KIP, M. A, 

AUTHOR OP "the DOUBLE WITNESS OF THE CHUECH," " THE LENTEN 
FAST," ETC. ETC. 



rerum pulcherrima, Roma. 

Virg. Georo. ii. 534. 




NEW-YORK : 
D. APPLETON & CO., 200 BROADWAY 

PHILADELPHIA : 
GEO S. APPLETON, 148 CHESNUT-ST. 

.MDCrCXLVI. 



fio,\. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by 

D. APPLETON & CO., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of 

New- York. 



30^ 
5G& 



THE COMPANION OF THESE WANDERINGS, 



HEE HUSBAND 



INSCRIBES THIS VOLUME. 



" Why, wedded to the Lord, still yearns my heart 
Upon these scenes of ancient heathen fame ? 
Yet legend hoar, and voice of bard that came 
Fixing my restless youth with its sweet art. 
And shades of power, and those who bore their part 
In the mad deeds that set the world in flame, 
To fret my memory here, — ah ! is it blame 
That from my. eye the tear is fain to start ? 
Nay, from no fount impure these drops arise ; 
'Tis but the sympathy with Adam's race, 
Which in each brother's history reads its own." 

Lyra Apostolica. 



PREFACE. 

To have seen Rome is a great fact in an individual's life. So it ap- 
peared to the writer of these pages, v^^hen wandering among her mighty 
ruins, finding every where the bright pictures of youthful imagination sur- 
passed. Cicero in his day declared — " We are surrounded by the vestiges 
of history." How then should we feel when, standing on the same spot, 
we realize, that eighteen centuries have since added their relics ! 

The title of this volume does not perhaps, give an adequate idea of 
its contents. The writer was led to adopt it, because his primary object 
in visiting Rome at that season, was to witness the Christmas services. 
His residence there was, however, prolonged through the greater part of 
the winter, all of which time was occupied in diligent study of the inex- 
haustible objects around him. To attempt a description of one-half, in 
a work of this size, would be in vain ; he has therefore only selected from 
his notes written on the spot, some of those things which excited the 
greatest interest in his own mind. 

It will be seen that while he has paid some attention to the antiqui- 
ties of the city and the classical associations connected with them, he has 
dwelt particularly upon Ecclesiastical matters relating to the Church of 
Rome. And in this respect, he thinks the work will differ from most of 
those on the same subject. Travellers seem generally to have given only 
a one-sided view of the Papal Church. Some were ready to commend 
every thing, and others, on the contrary, saw nothing good in the whole 
system — ^no rite or service which did not shock some violent prejudice. 
Now in this, as in every thing else, there is a proper medium. The Church 
of Rome is indeed deformed by many fearful errors, which often stjike at 



X PREFACE. 

the very cardinal doctrines of our faith, but she has also retained much 
that is Catholic. Were it not so, that mighty Hierarchy could not have 
subsisted for so many centuries, through every change and convulsion — 
winning to its spiritual sway, the crowds of northern barbarians which 
swept over the city — and even at the present day, drawing to itself pro- 
selytes in lands, where intellectual and spiritual freedom give every op- 
portunity for the thorough discussion of this subject. These are the very 
things which render the system so dangerous, enabling it to charm the 
imagination and retain its hold upon the human mind, while its influence 
is withering to the best interests of our race. The writer has therefore 
endeavored to look at the Church of Rome without prejudice, and while 
his investigation strengthened the unfavorable view he before had of the 
practical working of that system, he still has not withheld his tribute of 
praise from any thing he saw which was truly Catholic. 

He has been obliged to write this volume entirely during the last 
three months, amidst those engrossing cares of Parish duty which neces- 
sarily gathered around him after the absence of nearly a year from his 
field of labor. He mentions this, not to deprecate criticism, but to account 
for mistakes which may exist. To him, however, the labor has been a 
pleasant one, reviving associations which he would always wish to cher- 
ish. Beautiful Italy! thy old traditions lingering around each crumbling 
fane, and consecrating each fountain and grove, are inspiration to the 
mind ! thy very language is melody to the ear ! Thy bright and sunny 
clime — thy land so richly dowered with loveliness — thy antique and 
solemn ruins — how will the recollections they furnish mingle with the 
stern realities of coming days, and soften the carking cares of this 
working world ! They will return to us like the glorious visions 
which ever after floated before the eyes of the Arabian shepherd, when — 
as Eastern fable tells us — while wandering in the wilderness, he had 

caught a single glimpse of the gardens of Trim, and then lost them again 
forever. 

Albany, Christmas, 184.5. 



CONTENTS. 



I. PAGE 

Civita Vecchia — journey to. Rome — " the Eternal City" by moon- 
light ^ . . . 15 

II. 

View from the Tower of the Senator. 23 

III. 
St. Peter's Church , 37 

IV. 

The Christmas Services T . . 57 

V. 

The Capitoline Hill 71 

VI. 
The Vatican 87 

VII. 
Presentation at the Papal Court — the Popedom 101 

VIII. 
A Day's Ramble in Rome Ill 

IX. 

The Epiphany Services 127 

X. 

The Tombs of the last Stuarts 137 



Xll CONTENTS. 

XL PAGE 

The Coliseum — Palace of the Csesars — Baths. .* . . • 145 

XII. 

Dramatic Character of the Church Services — Sermon by a Vicar 

General — Capuchin Cemetery. ...... 1G3 

XIII. 
Christian Art — Overbeck. 175 

XIV. 
Excursion on the Appian Way. 185 

XV. 

Cardinals — Mezzofanti. . . . . . . . 205 

XVI. 
The Protestant Burial ground 215 

XVII. 
The Palaces of Rome 227 

XVIII. 
Excursion to Tivoli 251 

XIX. 
The Churches of Rome 265 

XX. 

Exhibition at the Propaganda — Funerals — Vespers at the Convent 

of Santa Trinita. ........ 2."<7 

XXI. 

The Roman People — The Civil government of the Papal Court. 299 

XXII. 
The Papal Church . .Til 

XXIII. 
Farevvf^l fn Romp. ........ .".Tl 



CIVITA VECCHIA. — JOURNEY TO ROME. — THE 
"ETERNAL CITY" BY MOONLIGHT. 



CHAPTER I. 

It was in one of the most lovely nights ever seen under 
an Italian sky, that the steamer in which we had embarked 
from Genoa came within sight of the coast of the Papal do- 
minions. The moon had risen in her queen-like beauty, 
and as she rode high above us in the heavens, every wave 
of the Mediterranean seemed tinged with her radiance. 
Felucca, polacre, xebec, and other strange looking craft, were 
floating lazily on the sea, while our own vessel, as she glided 
through the blue waters, left a track of molten silver to mark 
her way. The cool fresh breeze which came sweeping over 
the sea was far more grateful than the heated air of the 
cabin, and we remained long on deck, seeing as we passed, on 
the one hand. Napoleon's miniature kingdom of Elba, and on 
the other, the long line of the main land, which owes submis- 
sion to his Holiness, Gregory XVI. 

At sunrise the next morning we entered the harbor of 
Civita Vecchia, the nearest approach which can be made by 
sea to the city of Rome. The remaining distance, fifty- two 
miles, must be travelled by land. Ostia, the ancient port, in 
which during the days of the republic her galleys rode, where 
Scipio Africanus embarked for Spain, and Claudius for Bri- 
tain, is indeed but sixteen miles from the city, and was for- 
merly much nearer, but the gradual accumulation of sand 
has entirely destroyed its harbor. After it was sacked by 
the Saracens in the fifth century, no attempt was made to 
restore it. The salt marshes which Livy mentions as exist- 



16 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ing in the days of Ancus Martius, gradually encroached on 
the one side, and the sand was drifted over it from the sea on 
the other, until this city, which once contained eighty thou- 
sand inhabitants, now has only about fifty souls living in 
wretchedness among its ruins. We passed it in the steamer 
some months afterwards on our way up from Naples ; but the 
site is only marked by the remains of a temple and theatre 
almost concealed by brambles, and a picturesque old fortress 
erected during the middle ages, with two solitary pine trees 
standing in front of it. And yet, this place was once a 
suburb of imperial Rome — from thence the old consuls went 
forth to victory, and there they landed to commence their 
triumphs as they entered the city. 

Civita Vecchia, with its fortress erected from plans fur- 
nished by Michael Angelo, and its long ramparts, presents a 
striking view from the sea, which you find, on landing, the 
reality by no means justifies. It has, however, some traces of 
antiquity, for the massive stonework of its port was built 
under the direction of Trajan, (the younger Pliny describes it 
as the " Trajani Portus,") and here, as at Terracina, the 
bronze rings by which the Roman galleys were made fast to 
the quays still remain. The immense prisons lining the 
basin have a bright appearance which contrasts strangely with 
the gloomy object to which they are devoted. When we 
came on deck at dawn, the galley-slaves, in their parti-color- 
ed dresses, were just marching out to work, attended by a 
strong guard of soldiers. Their number is said to be nearly 
twelve hundred, and the clanking of their chains as they 
walked was the first sound which greeted us from the States 
of the Church. 

The manner in which we were fleeced on all sides at 
this port of his Holiness, was a foretaste of what we were to 
expect in Italy. You first pay sundry pauls* for being rowed 

* A paul or paalo, is about eleven cents. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 17 

ashore from the steamer; several porters (facchini) seize 
your baggage, and, unless you can squabble in Italian, you 
must bestow some more pauls on each for carrying it to the 
custom-house — more pauls to the officials there, for weighing 
it, to see whether or not it is beyond the allowable weight for 
the carriage — more for plumbing it, (that is, cording it up and 
fastening it with a lead seal, which is not to be taken off till 
you reach Rome,) — more for the printed permit to pass it 
through the gates when you leave — more for hoisting it up 
on the top of the carriage ; and so you go on, paying away 
on the right and on the left, until your small change and 
patience are both exhausted. In this little catalogue is not 
included the fee to the custom-house officer, whose inspec- 
tion was a mere pro forma business. He lifted the covers of 
our trunks, made a great flourish about the examination, in 
the course of which he opened a book, (happening to be a 
controversial one on the Romish Church,) and looked into it 
as curiously as if there was any probability of his understand- 
ing what it was, and then closed the trunks again. He next 
whispered to us, that "he should be happy to receive some- 
thing, as we had been well served," turned his back, put his 
open hand behind him with a great affectation of secrecy, 
closed it as the expected pauls dropped in, and the farce was 
over. Add to this about a dollar for the vise of each pass- 
port, and you have the history of the black-mail levied on us 
at Civita Vecchia in about two hours. 

At noon we set out in a carriage drawn by three horses. 
*' And so we went towards Rome." The road for one half of 
the distance skirts the Mediterranean through a region dreary 
and often uncultivated, though the last part, where it turns 
eastward into the country, becomes more hilly. One who 
looked only to the present, would pronounce it a ride without 
interest, except where his curiosity was, at times, excited by 
some massive ruins near the road, or a lonely tower hanging 
over the sea, reminding him of days of feudal strife. But, 



18 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

as Walpole says, "our memory sees more than our eyes in 
this country." The classical scholar, therefore, looks upon 
it as a land seamed and furrowed by the footsteps of past 
ages. He is in the midst of places of which Strabo and 
Pliny wrote. He crosses the Vaccina, the Amnis Coereta- 
nus of his old school days. He passes through Cervetere, once 
one of the most important cities of ancient Etruria, where 
Virgil tells us Mezentius reigned when Eneas entered Italy ; 
and the paintings in whose tombs, Pliny says, existed long 
before the foundation of Rome. It is supposed, indeed, that 
the Romans were first initiated in the mysteries of the Etrus- 
can worship by the priests of Caere; and, when Rome was 
invaded by the Gauls, it was here that the vestal virgins 
found an asylum, and were sent for safety with the sacred 
fire. Every scene, indeed, has its separate story; and old 
memories of the past are crowding back on the traveller's 
mind, as he hears names which are associated with all he 
knows of classical interest. 

It is something too to be riding along the shores of the 
Mediterranean. Its waves are haunted by the spirit of the 
past. We see them sparkling at our feet, or stretching out to 
the horizon, blue and beautiful in the sunlight, and we re- 
member what countries they lave. Opposite to us is Africa, 
where St. Augustine once ruled, and hundreds of temples 
reared- the Cross on high — then comes Egypt with its hoary 
antiquity, by the side of which Italy is young and childlike — 
then that holy land which our Lord "environed with his 
blessed feet," and whereParadise was Lost and was Regained. 
On we pass to old Tyre, where, as prophecy foretold, the 
nets are drying on the rocks, — and onward again, till we 
behold the waters breaking in the many bays of Greece. 
There was the last foothold of the " faded hierarchy " of 
Olympus; and now, though songs are hushed and dances 
stilled in that land, yet beauty has every where left the won- 
derful tokens of her presence. And to the shores, too, where 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 19 

we are, the waves of this sea have borne one race after an- 
other from the far East, and seen the feeble colonies expand 
into greatness, until their children went forth to inherit the 
earth. What wonderful memories then linger around this 
mighty "valley of waters!"* 

The last few miles were over the silent and desolate Cam- 
pagna — low stunted trees only at times were seen, and not 
a habitation gave notice that we were drawing nigh to a 
mighty city. Far as the eye can reach is an unbroken 
waste, and the Mistress of the world stands encircled by a 
melancholy solitude. Yet is it not appropriate that it should 
be so? About fair Naples are lovely vineyards, lining the 
road with the rich festoons they have hung from tree to tree ; 
and from whichever side you approach beautiful Florence, 
whether from the smiling fields of Tuscany, or "leafy Va- 
lembrosa," or the woody heights of Fiesole, where Milton 
mused and wrote, there is still the same rich and lively 
scenery. All things are in unison with the gay and poetical 
character of these cities. Should not Rome, then, the fallen 
Metropolis of the earth, majestic even in ruins, be surrounded 
only by barrenness and decay? Every object should inspire 
thoughts of awe and melancholy, as we approach this "Niobe 
of nations," standing thus 

" Childless and crownless in her voiceless woe." 

It was late at night when we reached the neighborhood 
of "the eternal city;" but the moon was up, shedding its 
light over the whole landscape, and we waited with eager 
impatience for our first view of the Mistress of the World. 
At length it came. "Roma!" shouted the postillion, and at 
once all heads were thrust through the carriage windows. 
Towers and turrets, columns and cupolas rose before us, and 

• 
* " The valley of waters, widest next to that 

Which doth the eanh engarland." 

Dante. II Paradiso,c. ix. 1. 80. 



so THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

high above all, the majestic dome of St. Peter's mounting in 
the air. We were approaching the Porta Cavalliggeri, im- 
mediately in the rear of that miracle of architecture. A few 
moments more and we reached it — our passports were in- 
spected by the guard — we entered, and were within the walls 
of Rome. Our carriage drove round close to the mighty 
colonnades of St. Peter's, stretched out far on both sides as if 
embracing the vast arena they enclose — then rose before us 
with its massive towers, the Castle of St. Angelo, once the 
mighty tomb 

-" "Which Hadrian rear'd on high, 



Imperial mimic of old Egypt's piles. 

We crossed the Tiber, as it sluggishly wound along in the 
calm moonlight, by the ancient Pons iElius, and around us 
on every side was the magnificence of which we had heard 
from our earliest years, — a magnificence which still survives 
the wreck of wars and violence, and rapine and earthquake, 
and conflagrations and floods. All was the more grand and 
solemn because not seen in the glare of day. The delusive 
visionary light and deep broad shadows enlarged every por- 
tico, increased the height of every dome and tower, and lefl 
the imagination to fill up the gigantic outline they revealed. 
And thus, we felt, should Rome be seen for the first time ! 



VIEW FROM THE TOWER OF THE SENATOR. 



2* 



CHAPTER II. 

It takes some time for one to become accustomed to the 
thought that he is in Rome. To be actually living within its 
walls — to be treading on the same spot where the old consuls 
walked — where the Scipios and Caesars played that mighty 
game which bequeathed their names to all posterity — this is 
the fulfilment of our early dreams which it is for a long while 
difficult to realize. We find ourselves insensibly exclaim- 
ing, " this is Rome !" as if these little words contained a 
meaning we were unable fully to grasp, and which we were 
endeavoring therefore to impress upon our minds. And these 
feelings are natural. Servius Sulpicius, "the Roman friend 
of Rome's least mortal mind," could be won from a remem. 
brance of his own griefs, by a sight of the time-worn ruins of 
ancient days. As he gazed upon Megara and ^Egina, Cor- 
nith and the Piraeus, he forgot his private sorrows, merging all 
other feelings in his sympathy for fallen greatness.* May 
not we then, wanderers from a distant continent, of whose 
very existence the old Roman was ignorant, when we stand 
for the first time in the home of his ancient glory, feel as if 
haunted by a memory of the mighty deeds which have been 
there achieved ? 

Our first object was to gain a clear knowledge of the 
situation of Rome and the localities of the surrounding coun^ 
try. This morning, therefore, we took our way through tha 

* Middleton's Cicero, v. ii. p. 371. 



24 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Corso, (or Via Lata,) passing the beautiful columns of Tra- 
jan and Antoninus, with the spiral line of sculpture winding 
from the base to the capital of each. They are perfect, 
except that the statues of the emperors have been removed, 
and those of St. Peter and St. Paul substituted in their place. 
At the distance of a hundred aad twenty feet from the ground 
it is of course impossible to distinguish an apostle from an 
emperor, although the former seems very much out of place 
above these sculptured representations of eastern wars and 
heathen sacrifices. We ascended to the Capitol, and, from 
the lofty tower of the Palace of the Senator, beheld the coun- 
try spread out around us like a panorama. It was a clear 
and beautiful day, so that in the transparency of an Italian 
atmosphere, the most distant points were easily visible. But 
where on the wide earth can a single spot be selected, which 
will command a view of so much historical interest ! The 
Capitoline hill stands between the ruins which remain of old 
Rome and the new city which has sprung into being on the 
other side — between the ancient Capitol of the Republic and 
the Empire, and the modern city of the Popes, which has 
grown up in the last few centuries. It seems therefore to 
look down, as it were, upon the living and the dead. On the 
one hand stand lonely and grand those majestic ruins — ^the 
Forum, with the Jofty pillars of its temples — the Coliseum — 
the triumphal arches of the Emperors — all, indeed, which 
eighteen centuries of war and rapine have left us. Their 
venerable forms bear not alone the furrows of age, but are 
marked also by the traces of destruction and Gothic violence. 
We turn from them, and on the other hand are the narrow 
crowded streets, and faintly there ascend to us the tumult 
and noise of busy life among the thousands who have inher- 
ited the name of Roman, without being heirs to any of the 
stern virtues which distinguished their ancestors. 

Let us then place ourselves for an hour on this hill, and 
"begetting the time again" out of the recollections of histo- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 25 

ry, summon back the two thousand years which have gone. 
^n this spot stood the humble cottage of Romulus, long pre- 
served with pious care as a relic of their rude forefathers. 
Here and on the neighboring Palatine Mount were gathered 
his little band of colonists, while the surrounding hills were 
yet tangled wildernesses of trees, and the low grounds were 
marshes formed by the overflow of the Tiber. About their 
habitations they had erected a wall, which, if we credit the 
traditionary stories of Livy, could have offered but little re- 
sistance to the many enemies who lived almost at their gates. 
Years went by, and one hostile nation after another was con- 
quered, and sometimes, as in the case of Alba, the population 
removed and incorporated among the victors. Thus the city 
grew, and extended over " the Seven Hills," whose outline 
we can yet easily trace, though the accumulation of soil in 
the valleys has much diminished their height. It was not 
however till the days of Aurelian that it attained its extent, 
and by him the walls were erected the same in circumference 
that they are at this day. Then too the ancient Campus 
Martins was taken in, which from the time of Servius Tullius 
had been without the city. Where the Roman youth had 
been for ages accustomed to practice their martial exercises, 
Augustus commenced the erection of magnificent buildings. 
The population has since travelled northward, and gradually 
encroached upon it, until now it is the most thickly settled 
district. 

Thus it is that the old landmarks connect the past with 
the present, and ancient Rome was the same in the circuit of 
its vast and antique walls that the city is now. Yet within 
them how different does every thing appear ! The popula- 
tion has gradually diminished, until it has become thinly 
scattered over this wide space. Look over it, and you behold 
wild fields mingled with its habitations, and here and there 
grassy lanes winding among ruins, or some hill-top rising up 
lonely and bare, apparently deserted by the foot of man. 



26. THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

The " yellow Tiber" sweeps onward, among hoary monu- 
ments which bend over its waters. Heathen temples an(^ 
the domes of Christian churches — ^the stately palaces of her 
ancient nobility, with around them garden terraces rising one 
above the other, glittering with pillars and statues, on whose 
snowy whiteness the climate produces no change — smiling 
orange groves, their rich green and gold gleaming in the sun- 
shine — ^the tall cypresses, with their dark foliage — ^the stone 
pines with their broad flat tops, so oriental in appearance — 
and, diffused over all, the many tinted, colored atmosphere of 
this delicious clime — such is Rome as we gaze upon it to-day. 

We said in the last chapter that the Campagna encircled 
the city, and from the elevated place on which we stood, we 
saw its flat unbroken surface stretching out, until it was 
bounded, like the frame of some mighty picture, by the Sabine 
hills about sixteen miles distant. It is a waste of fern, with 
here and there a withered pine tree breaking the dull uni- 
formity ; yet generally treeless, and often shrubless. The 
roads of ancient Rome — such, for example, as the Appian 
way — pass over it, lined with the remains of tombs, which, 
though now in ruins, are so beautifully picturesque, that 
they are the admiration of the painter, and form always the 
finest feature in his landscape. At a distance, too, may be seen 
the long line of arches of the Claudian aqueduct, the most 
massive ruin without the walls. But from the surface of the 
ground, the noxious malaria is constantly rising, and malig- 
nant sickness cuts down the shepherds who have made their 
home in the old ruined tombs. 

And yet it is evident that this dreary waste must once 
have been covered with cities, and inhabited by a busy 
population. Among the fifty nations enumerated by Pliny as 
belonging to Latium in an early day, and which had entirely 
disappeared, he places no less than thirty-three towns within 
the compass of what are now the Pontine marshes.* The 

* Hist. Nat. iii. 5. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 27 

Fidense were only five, and the Gabii ten miles from Rome, 
and yet so few vestiges of their existence remained, that when 
Horace wishes to convey an idea of perfect desolation, he 
savs — * 

" Gabiis desertior atque, 
Fidenis vicus" 

Ancient writers tell us, indeed, that from Rome to Ostia, 
a space of sixteen miles, the whole road was lined with 
buildings ; and Florus calls Tibur, which is about the same 
distance over the Campagna, a suburb of Rome. " Whoever," 
says Dionysius, "wishes to ascertain the size of Rome, 
will be led into error, and have no certain mark to decide 
how far the city reaches, or where it begins not to be city ; 
the country is so connected with the town, and gives those 
who see it an idea of a city infinitely extended. "f This 
certainly presents a very different picture from Rome as it 
is at the present day, hemmed in by its walls, and all with- 
out them a desolate solitude. Tacitus, however, states that 
in the reign of Claudius the inhabitants amounted to nearly 
six millions ',% a population which could not have been con- 
tained within the walls, and must have been widely spread 
over the Campagna itself. 

The causes of this change, however, are obvious. As 
long ago as the days of Strabo, the marshes on the coast 
rendered that part of the country unhealthy. These must 
gradually have encroached on the interior, their poisonous 
exhalations been borne farther and farther by the sea breeze, 
and the evil of course gone on more rapidly, when a place 
became uninhabited. Now the Campagna was wasted by 
successive hordes of invaders to the very walls of Rome. 
We can see to this day the traces of their progress. The 
northern side of the city, from which direction they came, 
is more ruinous than the rest, while the antiquities on the 

* Epis. i. xi. 7. t Lib. iv. t An. lib. xi. c. 25. 



28 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

southern part are in the best preservation. When, therefore, 
the population was driven within the walls, and the open 
country became deserted, a few seasons would transform all 
without into a desolate wilderness, and then the rank herb- 
age would gradually conceal the ruins. 

And so it has remained for centuries, becoming each age 
more dreary, and except the tombs, and here and there a 
mound of loose stones, there are no traces of the nations 
which once inhabited those extensive tracts. In winter, you 
may see upon it thousands of the large gray Tuscan oxen, 
with their mild eyes and long horns ; the descendants of the 
white cattle of whom Virgil speaks. At intervals, a herds- 
man, one of the gaunt massari, is watching them, and in his 
picturesque costume — a broad hat flapped over the eyes, 
sheepskin cloak, and carrying a long lance, while the gun is 
slung at his side — he seems wilder even than the fiery horse 
on which he dashes about. Vast herds of buffaloes, too, of a 
dingy color, introduced from foreign lands into Tuscany by 
Lorenzo de Medici, but since naturalized all over Italy, roam 
on the Campagna, and with their wild red eye, bent neck, and 
lowering aspect, they seem to warn the passer-by not to 
approach too near their short curved horns. 

But when the summer comes, the cattle are driven to the 
pastures of the Sabine hills, or even the more distant mountains 
of the Abruzzi. Then each day the heat increases, until the 
air seems like a sea of fire. Even the shade of night brings 
no relief, and the only breeze which blows through the sultry 
atmosphere is the hot sirocco. The grass is burnt up, the 
stagnant water infects the air, and even the Tiber seems to 
have shrunk from its banks to half its usual breadth. No 
cloud, no rain, no cooling wind ; nothing but the hot rays 
of the sun beating down on the parched ground. Every 
breath drawn from the sulphurous atmosphere seems to kindle 
a scorching fever in the blood, and the wild buffaloes 
are roused to madness by the myriads of stinging insects 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 29 

which swarm the heated air. Thus for months on the wide 
Campagna life seems ahuost insupportable. But even at this 
season, when the heats are so terrific and the malaria is most 
deadly, there are materials there from which death can reap 
his harvest. About once in four years certain portions of 
this desolate tract are planted, and the summer is the time of 
harvest. "The peasants from the Volscian hills, and from 
beyond the frontier, come down into the plain to earn a few 
crowns for the ensuing winter ; they work in the harvest-field 
all day under a scorching sun, and at night sleep on the damp 
earth, from which the low heavy vapor of the pestilent 
malaria begins to rise at sunset. Even the strongest and 
healthiest are often struck down in a single week : before the 
harvest is gathered in, hundreds of hardy mountaineers have 
perished on the plain, and those who survive either die on 
their return home or bear the mark of the pestilence for life." 
Such is the Campagna, which has usurped the place where 
the busy thousands of Imperial Rome once dwelt. How in- 
valuable to us would be a view of the City as it was in those 
its palmy days! Charlemagne, we are told, had "faire 
silver tables " made, on which were engravings of Constan- 
tinople and Rome. The one which contained the plan of 
Rome was given by him to the Church of Ravenna. If this 
could be recovered, what a treasure would it be to the his- 
torical student ! 

But let us resume the map and continue our view. Be- 
yond the Campagna rises the chain of richly- wooded moun- 
tains, of which we have already spoken. But of what 
changing scenes have those heights been the mute observers, 
since fii'st the land around them lay, silent and untenanted, 
when the waters of the deluge had gone ! They beheld one 
race after another come from the East, and strange rites and 
sacrifices performed on those Seven Hills, and the wide plain 
between. The Etruscans laid deep their massive archi- 
tecture, and then passed away so entirely that even their 



30 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

language has perished, and the inscriptions they recorded on 
the solid rock, later generations cannot interpret. Then came 
a wilder race, which gradually rose to power, until the Roman 
name filled the earth. One by one their enemies fell before 
them. On that long ridge once stood Alba Longa, whose 
ruin Livy has immortalized. There dwelt the Samnites, 
and that little stream, the Anio, which still goes murmuring 
on its way to join the Tiber on the plain, then separated their 
country from Latium. The Gauls came, and on that crest of 
rocks is the Arx Libana of Livy, to which they were driven 
back when attacking the city. The Carthaginians, too, en- 
tered the arena of conflict ; and there, to the left of the Alban 
Mount, is still pointed out the small open plain, on which they 
were encamped while they besieged Rome. What consterna- 
tion must have been felt around the Capitoline Hill, while these 
events were going on ! What noise and busy note of prepara- 
tion were heard, as the armed legions of Rome marched down 
its sides, and went forth to fight for their homes and altars ! 
How different from the stillness which now rests upon this 
spot, where nothing is seen but these old and hoary ruins ! 

But all these nations were crushed beneath the iron tread 
of the conquerors. Then the whole landscape became 
crowded with works of art. The inhabitants of the city cross- 
ed the wide Campagna, and even the Sabine Hills were trans- 
formed into the seats of Roman luxury. Every valley and peak 
was consecrated by Roman genius. That lofty mountain in 
the dim distance, now covered with snow and so dazzling white 
as the sunbeams play upon it, Horace celebrated as the " geli- 
dus Algidus." That height he speaks of as " Lucretilis ;" 
and that opening of the plain between the hills is his**' frigi- 
dum Prseneste." How often, too, in his lyrics, does he sing 
the beauties of the ancient Tibur ; that little place which you 
can just perceive almost buried in its woods and olive groves ! 

Cicero has also left his name associated with those hills, 
for there was the site of his far-famed Tusculum. He pur- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 31 

chased the villa which had once belonged to Sylla the Dic- 
tator, filled it with all the magnificence which art in that 
age of luxury could devise, and to its library — adorned, we 
are told, with statues of the Muses — or to the cool groves 
which surrounded it, he retired from the strife of the busy 
city. From its noble portico he could look over the wide 
landscape, until the view was terminated by the splendors 
of Rome itself; and here he has laid the scene of some of 
his philosophical works, the De Divinatione, and the Tuscu- 
lan Questions. Beyond his retreat, on the highest point in 
the chain of hills, was the Sacred Grove of the Alban mount ; 
and towering above it, in sight not only of the surrounding 
country but of Rome itself, stood the magnificent temple of 
Jupiter Latiaris. How often must the patriot and consul 
have turned to it with the deepest reverence ! There, once in 
each year, the Latin tribes assembled to hold their sacred festi- 
val, and together they offered common sacrifice to the tutelar 
deity of the nation.* The Roman generals repaired thither in 
the hour of their triumph, to return thanks for victory, and on 
one occasion, when Cicero himself was pleading for Milo, he 
turned his eyes to that temple, in full view from where he 
stood in the Forum, and burst forth with the eloquent apos- 
trophe, " Tuque ex tuo edito monte, Latiaris Sancte Jupiter, 
cujus ille lacus nemora fines que," &c. From that mount, 
too, Virgil represents the Queen of Heaven as watching the 
changing fortunes of the battle, when the Latin and Trojan 
forces were arrayed on the plain beneath. With new interest, 
indeed, we read the last books of the ^neiad, when we have 
before us the hills, the groves, the winding Tiber ; the very 
scenes which the poet has there described. 

Thus it is that the spirit of the past broods over every 
portion of this haunted land. Men may change, — one race 
after another pass away, — the very monuments they have 

* Eustace Class. Tour. vii. p. 94. 



Sa THE CHETSTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

left perish, — yet still the features of nature remain the same. 
The mountains are there — and the streams — and the Seven 
Hills — and the wide plains, into whose bosom through the 
silent lapse of centuries the ancient cities have gradually been 
sinking, until now the spring, with her flowery veil, conceals 
their ruins entirely from our eyes. The valleys are unal- 
tered, and the clifis look down upon them as of old, except 
that the long ages as they went by have written there the 
chronicles of their flight. These pass not away, and, there- 
fore, every old historic association can find its home. And 
so it is in every part of this land, which Poetry has conse- 
crated and made her own. The very forms of vegetable life, 
the trees and fragile flowers — carry us back two thousand 
years into the bosom of the past. The ilex yet waves upon 
the heights of Mount Alburnus, as when Virgil wrote his 
Georgics — about the site of Tusculum, the plane tree blooms 
as luxuriantly as it did when Cicero, in his introduction to 
De Oratore, speaks of its " overshadowing the spot with its 
spreading boughs" — and twice in each year, when May and 
December come round, "the roses with their double Spring," 
(hiferi rosaria PcEsti,) still blossom among the ruined temples 
of Peestum, with that renewing sweetness which attracted 
the attention of Ovid, and furnished a beautiful simile to 
grace the writings of Propertius. 

The last few pages have scarcely enumerated the objects 
of interest which crowd upon us, as we gaze this morning 
from the lofty tower of the Palace of the Senator. To the 
reader they may, perchance, present only a dull catalogue of 
names ; but to us, with the scenes themselves before our eyes, 
there is a life and a reality in every thing. From the 
cloudy past, twenty-five centuries rise up to meet us, as we 
look upon those places which are " familiar in our mouths as 
household words." It is at such times, too, that the spirit of 
our own early days returns, and passages of Virgil and 
Horace, which we studied at the school-desk, call up again 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 33 

the friendships of our boyhood. The present is forgotten. 
The weary cares of manhood fade away, and " the heat and 
burden" beneath which we are now laboring, is unfelt. The 
Spring of life returns in all its freshness. Friends, whose 
faces we can never more see in the flesh, gather about — 
familiar voices fall upon the ear with a startling distinctness 
— and scarcely realizing that all this is only of the imagi- 
nation, we bless the associations which can produce the 
change. For a brief and sunny interval we even doubt the 
truth of that melancholy song of the German Students — 

" the gladness of our youthful prime,— 



It Cometh not again, — that golden time !" 



ST. PETER'S CHURCH. 



CHAPTER III. 

The first thought in Rome is of St. Peter's. We have, 
of course, often been there, for when there is nothing else 
immediately to occupy our attention, we can repair to this 
mighty temple, and find a subject for study which is inex- 
haustible. Instead, however, of vainly attempting a descrip- 
tion — for every effort of this kind for centuries has proved 
that no words can give any idea of this unrivalled edifice — 
we would rather note down a few of the impressions left upon 
the mind. 

The way which led to it was through a series of narrow 
winding streets, crowded with a miserable population, deeply 
demoralized, and crushed to the earth by indigence. At 
length we reached the Castle of St. Angelo, and from this 
spot a broad avenue opened before us to the massive colon- 
nades of St. Peter's. Our first view of the exterior by day- 
light disappointed us, for when seen from this point it is 
certainly not imposing. The faqade is allowed to be dispro- 
portioned to the building, and too much conceals the dome. 
We have since examined, in the library of the Vatican, a 
copy of Michael Angelo's original plan, in which this defect 
is avoided, and the whole front appears more grand and 
striking. His drawing of the facade closely resembles the 
portico of the Pantheon. 

In the open square in front, stands an ancient obelisk, 

3 



38 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

which points up to Jieaven, tapering away as if it seemed to 
lose itself in the air. Caligula brought it from " old hushed 
Egypt" to adorn his baths, and a Pope placed it in front of 
St. Peter's. On each side of it is a fountain, which flings up 
its column of water, as if into the clouds, where it seems to 
pause for a moment, reflecting back the changing colors of 
the sky, and then falling into its porphyry basin, the thousand 
hues are lost in one dazzling sheet of foam. But who pauses 
to dwell on these when the temple itself is before them ! We 
ascend the broad marble steps — put aside the heavy curtain 
which veils the entrance — and the sensations of the next few 
minutes are worth a year of common-place life. 

The first efiect on every one must be bewildering. He 
sees gathered before him treasures of art of which before he 
could scarcely have conceived, and all enshrined in a build- 
ing which mocks any comparison with the gorgeous temple 
of Jerusalem, or those magnificent fanes which the worship- 
pers of the old mythology raised to their fabled deities. For 
more than three centuries, the energies and wealth of thirty- 
five Pontifls were devoted to this work, and the* aid of the 
whole Christian world was invoked to render it a temple wor- 
thy of the Most High. Eustace estimates that the building 
itself cost twelve millions sterling. Every where, indeed, 
we see marbles, bronzes, and precious materials, which were 
gathered in Rome during the luxurious days of the Empire, 
but are nowhere else to be found in such profusion. We 
realize, indeed, that here man has exhausted the treasures of 
his genius and his worldly wealth. 

Almost every traveller states that his first impressions 
were those of disappointment. The interior did not appear 
as vast as he expected. The reason of this, undoubtedly is, 
because we have no received experience by which to judge 
its proportions. The eyes are " fools of the senses ;" and 
here occurs a case in which they have not been trained to 



THE CHRISTMAS lft)LYDAYS IN ROME. 39 

convey a correct estimate.* But with me, I confess, this 
was not the case. Having been told so often that I should 
be disappointed, 1 was prepared for it, and therefore, expected 
too little. Slowly we passed up the nave, until we found 
ourselves opposite to the High Altar. Above it rises a canopy, 
more than a hundred and thirty feet in height, its twisted 
columns of Corinthian brass covered with golden foliage, 
while beneath rests the body of St. Peter, around whose tomb 
a hundred lamps are burning day and night. We stand 
under the dome and look up, when an abyss seems to open 
above us. We can scarcely believe that its top is four hun- 
dred feet from the marble pavement. The inscription on 
the frieze does not seem very large, yet each letter is six feet 
high, and the pen in the hand of St. Mark is of the same 
length, although from where we stand the whole figure of 
the saint does not appear to be much beyond the ordinary 
stature. The mighty dome expands above us like the firma- 
ment, and within are pictured in rich mosaic the saints and 
celestial spirits looking upward and worshipping towards the 
throne of the Eternal, which, encircled with radiance, crowns 
this dizzy height. 

At our first visit we spent almost the whole day going 
over each part in detail^ and every little while stopping, and 
vainly endeavoring by one effort of the mind to grasp the 
mighty proportions of the building. The figures which occa- 
sionally moved across the marble pavement seemed dwarfed 



-" Our outward sense 



Is but of gradual grasp — and as it is 
That what we have of feeling most intense 
Outstrips our faint expression ; even so this 
Outshining and o'erwhelming edifice. 
Fools our fond gaze, and greatest of the great. 
Defies at first our nature's littleness. 
Till growing with its growth, we thus dilate 
Our spirits to the size of that they contemplate," 

[Childe Harold.] 



40 THE CHRISTMAS H#LYDAYS IN ROME. 

into pigmies, and we could scarcely realize that this vast 
structure, with its gorgeous profusion of paintings, and mar- 
bles, and gilding, could have been erected by those who, 
in comparison, appeared so insignificant. This Church has 
indeed a spirit within it, which is possessed by none other that 
we have ever entered. It is sufficient to preserve a faith in 
existence centuries after its life has gone. 

The very temperature of the building is remarkable, 
being always uniform ; mild and pleasant in winter, and cool 
in summer, when the heat of the sun is so intense above as 
almost to melt the lead. Professor Playfair accounts for it 
on the supposition, that the immense edifice absorbs so much 
heat during the summer, that it never wholly discharges it 
throughout the winter. However this may be, the atmos- 
phere is always delightful — no damp air is perceived — 
nothing but the slight perfume of the incense which is wafted 
from some side chapel where service is performing. 

We passed around, and wandered from aisle to aisle, and 
from Chapel to Chapel, finding on all sides the same lavish 
magnificence. Every thing is in perfect keeping, the statues 
themselves being gigantic to harmonize with the building. 
Around us were the gorgeous monuments of the Popes, on 
which the ablest sculptors of the last three centuries had 
exhausted their skill — ^the masterpiece of Canova, erected to 
the memory of Clement XIII, with its Genius of Death, hold- 
ing the inverted torch, and the sleeping lion below, the finest 
efforts of the modern chisel — and the marble group of the 
Virgin supporting " the dead Christ," a most touching work, 
which first established the fame of Michael Angelo. There 
was one, before which we particularly paused, because it 
bore, sculptured on the enduring marble, so plain a record 
of the high-handed oppression of the Papal power during the 
Middle Ages. It was the tomb of the celebrated Countess 
Matilda, who, in the days of Hildebrand, was the powerful 
ally of the Church, bequeathing to it also at her death, her val- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 41 

uable patrimony in Tuscany, a portion of which is still held 
by the Papal see. Living in the very crisis of that conflict 
between the Feudal system and the power of the Church, so 
well did she aid the latter in gaining its triumph, that she 
deserved her burial place in its noblest temple. Five centu- 
ries after her death, Urban VIII removed her body from the 
Benedictine Monastery, near Mantua, and deposited it beneath 
this stately monument. Does that statue, which Bernini has 
placed above her tomb, represent her as she was in her living 
day ? We may believe so, for it embodies our own idea of 
that stern woman, as she sits there frowning in the marble, 
holding in her hands the keys and the Papal tiara. But it is 
on the sides of the sarcophagus below, that we see portrayed 
the scene she aided to bring about, and which she considered 
her chief glory. 

When Henry, the young Emperor of Germany, had been 
excommunicated by Gregory VII, to obtain an interview 
with his rival and rescue himself from the anathema, he 
was obliged to cross the Alps in the depth of winter, over 
fields and precipices of ice which could only be traversed on 
foot. His object was, to throw himself at the Pontiff's feet 
and obtain absolution ; but he found this spiritual Autocrat 
in Matilda's strong mountain fortress of Canossa in the Apen- 
nines, and for a time every avenue was barred against him. 
At length Gregory consented that the Emperor should enter 
the fortress in the garb of a penitent, to receive his sentence. 
Then was witnessed, what we may well consider the most 
extraordinary scene in the annals of the Papacy. It was on 
a morning in January, 1077, when the cold was intense, the 
mountain streams frozen, and the ground white with snow, 
that earth's greatest monarch of that day was seen, bare- 
footed and clothed only in a thin linen penitential garment, 
toiling mournfully and alone up to the rocky castle of Ca- 
nossa. He passed two gateways, but found the third closed 
against him. It was at sunrise that he appeared in this hu- 



43 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

miliating state, and there he remained hour after hour, cold 
and faint, the object of wonder to the crowds which had 
gathered to the spectacle. But the gates opened not, and at 
sunset he was forced to retire, the object of his bitter penance 
still unaccomplished. Again the dawning day found him at 
his post, humbled and dispirited, while within the castle the 
proud pontiff who was trampling him to the ground, held his 
regal court with princes gathered around him. Yet the 
second day passed like the first — and the third followed it — 
while the wretched king was suing in vain for admittance, 
and Gregory was prolonging — what has been well termed — 
" this profane and hollow parody on the real workings of the 
broken and contrite heart." But human endurance could 
bear it no longer, and the monarch rushed from this scene of 
suffering to a neighboring chapel, to beseech on his knees 
the intercession of his kinswoman Matilda, and the venerable 
Abbot of Cluni. For several days all within the castle, even 
with tears, had entreated the Pope to end this painful scene, 
and reproaches of wanton tyranny were heard from his own 
adherents ; but he remained inexorable. At length, when 
Henry had reached the fourth day of his penance, Gregory 
consented that, still barefooted and in his penitential garment, 
he should be brought into his presence. 

This is the point of time which the artist has chosen; 
The youthful King — for he was only twenty-six — reduced at 
last to vassalage to the Church-«-his fiery spirit utterly 
crushed by the misery of the last three days, and the shame 
that weighed him down — crouches abjectly at the feet of his 
oppressor, as if submitting his neck to be trodden on. The 
Italian Court are around, the witnesses of his degradation, 
while above him stands Gregory, proud and haughty in his 
mien — the very incarnation of mitred tyranny. Matilda is 
there, rejoicing in her kinsman's indignities — and Hugh, the 
Abbot of Cluni, who had administered to Henry in his in- 
fancy the rite of Baptism — and Azzo, Marquis of Este — 



• THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN Rv,ME. 43 

and Adelaide of Susa, and her son, Amadeus — all calmly 
beholding these acts of spiritual despotism and relentless 
severity, performed by one claiming to be the Vicar of Him 
who was " meek and lowly of heart." 

Is this a scene which it is well to perpetuate in the 
unchanging marble ? On one occasion at least it would 
have been better for the Papal power if this record of its 
triumph had not been quite so prominent. We are told, that 
on the visit of the Emperor Joseph II to St. Peter's, when 
he came to this monument, he regarded it for a moment with 
fixed attention, and then turned away with a blush of indig- 
nation and a bitter smile. We all know the Kaiser's future 
course ; but might not the remembrance of that hour in St. 
Peter's have strengthened his purpose of a philosophical 
reformation, to depress and curb, in his own dominions, a 
power which could become so tyrannous ? 

" There is but one painting in St. Peter's : see if you can 
find it !" said a friend to me the day before our first visit. 
As we looked round the Church, his words recurred to us, 
and we wondered what he could have meant. There was an 
immense picture over every altar, and in every Chapel, and 
we recognized copies of the noblest masterpieces on sacred 
subjects. It was not until we had been there some hours, 
that we discovered — with one exception — they were mosaics, 
the colors, and lights and shades, being all so admirably imi- 
tated, that they rival the choicest works of the pencil. And 
probably centuries after the hues on the canvass have faded, 
these brilliant copies will preserve to the world a true record 
of the artist's genius. Time has already wrought its changes 
in the Transfiguration of Raphael, yet here is a duplicate in 
the unchanging stone, which even now begins to convey a 
truer idea of that great painter's conception, than the much 
cherished original in the Vatican. How deeply is it to be 
regretted, that among them we have not Da Vinci's Last 
Supper, which exists now only as a fresco at Milan, the 



44 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. * 

damp fast obliterating its colors, so that to the next genera- 
tion its beauty will be entirely gone ! " How long will that 
picture last V Napoleon once asked, as he was looking at a 
beautiful painting. " Perhaps five hundred years " — was 
the answer. " And such," said the Emperor, with a smile of 
scorn, " is a painter's immortality !" The builders of this 
magnificent pile seem to have shared these feelings, and to 
have determined that nothing should be here which in the 
lapse of time might perish. 

But in the wide Transepts is a sight, which cannot but 
arrest the attention of every one who is sighing for Catholic 
Unity, and remind him of those days when every nation 
acknowledged the same faith, and with one voice professed 
the same creed. There, are arranged the boxes for the con- 
fessional, in every language. Not only are those of Europe 
to be seen inscribed over these places, but also its various 
dialects, and -^ the strange tongues of the East. Thus, the 
wanderer from every land, who worships in these rites, 
beholds provision made for his spiritual wants. " There is 
one spot where the pilgrim always finds his home. We are 
all one people when we come before the Altar of the Lord.'"* 
Such are represented as the words of Marco Polo, in the 
thirteenth century, and here, to the member of the Church 
of Rome, they are realized. He comes to what he regards^ 
as the Mother Church of Christendom, and learns that he is 
not a stranger or an alien. He can unburthen himself to a 
priest of his own land, and the consolations of his faith are 
doubly sweet, when conveyed to him in the familiar words of 
" his own tongue, wherein he was born." With the errors 
of Rome, we have no sympathy — we feel and realize how 
much she has fallen from the simplicity of the faith — yet 
Catholic traits like this, none but the most prejudiced can 
refuse to admire. They show the far-reaching wisdom of 

* Sir Francis Palgrave's Merchant and Friar, p. 138. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 45 

that Church — that overlooking the distinctions of climate and 
country, and recognizing her field of labor to extend wher- 
ever there is a degraded being to listen to her message, she 
is resolute to " inherit the earth." 

But this vast edifice is never filled, not even, we are told, 
upon the coronation of a Pope. It is only, indeed, on a few 
great festivals that service is performed in the body of the 
Church, for ordinarily one of the side Chapels is used, and 
the High Altar stands lonely and deserted. Even Eustace 
— though a priest of the Church — inquires, why " the Pontiff, 
surrounded by his clergy, does not himself perform every 
Sunday the solemn duties of his station, presiding in person 
over the assembly, instructing his flock, like the Leos and 
Gregorys of ancient times, with his own voice, and with his 
own hands administering to them ' the bread of life,' and Uhe 
cup of salvation ?' " Such a sight would indeed be one both 
affecting and sublime. 

There is much, however, to detract from our pleasure in 
the survey of this unrivalled temple. The very inscription 
on the front, instead of dedicating it to Him who alone should 
be worshipped here, states that it is consecrated by Paul V — 
In honorem principis apostolorum. We pause to inspect 
the has reliefs on the magnificent bronze doors, and are trans- 
ported back to the days of heathenism. The artist drew 
his inspiration from no source more hallowed than the meta- 
morphoses of Ovid ; and Ganymede and the Eagle, with Leda 
and the Swan — the latter group more spirited than chaste — 
figure on the doors of this Christian temple. Advance to the 
High Altar, and near it, on a pedestal about four feet high, 
stands an old bronze statue, which the skeptical antiquary 
will tell you was once a Jupiter, by a slight change trans- 
formed into an undoubted St. Peter. However this may be, 
it is now a mere instrument of superstition, and through the 
whole day crowds may be seen kneeling before it in earnest 
prayer. Their devotions ended, they approach, kiss the 

3* 



46 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

extended foot — which is ahuost worn off by this constant 
friction — press their foreheads to it, and the process is ended. 
Has the Romanist any reason to laugh at the poor Mussul- 
man, who performs a pilgrimage to Mecca, to kiss the black 
stone of the Caaba ? On St. Peter's day this image is clothed 
in magnificent robes — the gemmed tiara placed upon its head 
— the jewelled collar around its neck — soldiers are stationed 
by its side, and lighted candles burning about it. A clergy- 
man of the Church of England, who was present on this 
occasion last year, told me, that the effect of the black image 
thus arrayed was perfectly ludicrous ; and with the people 
all kneeling before it, had he not known he was in a Chris- 
tian Church, he should have supposed himself in a heathen 
temple, and that, the idol. 

In the massive columns which support the Dome, are pre- 
served some holy relics, which are only shown with much 
ceremony from a high balcony, during Passion Week. A 
portion of the true Cross — the head of St. Andrew- — the lance 
of St. Longinus, (with which our Saviour was pierced) — 
and the Sudarium or handkerchief, containing the impres- 
sion of our Lord's features — form a part of this sacred trea- 
sury. Unfortunately, there are divers other lances of similar 
pretensions — one at Nuremberg, and another in Armenia. 
With the Sudarium, it is still worse, there being six rival ones - 
shown in different places, viz., Turin, Milan, Cadoin in 
Perigort, Besancon, Compeign, and Aix-la-Chapelle ; while 
that at Cadoin has fourteen bulls to declare it genuine, and 
that at Turin, four. The learned, however, solve the diffi- 
culty by saying, that the handkerchief applied to our Lord's 
face consisted of several folds, consequently the impression 
of the countenance went through them all, and they are all 
genuine !* 

One more item, and I have done with this disagreeable por- 

* Burton's Rome, vol. ii. p. 156. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 47 

tion of the subject. Pass the High Altar and at the farther 
extremity of the Church is a magnificent throne of bronze and 
gilt, surmounted by a canopy, and supported by four colossal 
gilt figures of St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, 
and St. Athanasius. Within is a chair, which tradition tells 
us is the identical one in which St. Peter sat when he ofH- 
ciated as Bishop of Rome. Some twenty years ago, Lady 
Morgan gave to the world another story of this wonderful 
relic. She states that when the French held Rome, their 
sacrilegious curiosity induced them to break through the 
splendid casket for the purpose of seeing the sacred chair. 
Upon its mouldering and dusty surface were traced carv- 
ings, which bore the appearance of letters. The chair was 
quickly brought into a better light, the dust and cobwebs re- 
moved, and the inscription faithfully copied. The writing is 
in Arabic characters, and is the well known confession of 
Mahometan faith — " There is but one God, and Mahomet is 
his prophet." The story, she adds, has since been hushed 
up, the chair replaced, and none but the unhallowed remem- 
ber the fact, and none but the audacious repeat it.* Dr. 
Wiseman takes miladi to task with great severity, and as- 
serts that it is an ancient curule chair, evidently of Roman 
workmanship, and may therefore reasonably be supposed to 
have been used as an Episcopal throne when St. Peter was 
received into the house of the Senator Pudens at Rome. 
The truth probably is, that it was brought from the East 
among the spoils of the Crusaders — presented to St. Peter's 
at a time when antiquarian research was not much in fashion 
— and now, its origin has been forgotten. 

But to continue the account of our visit. The hours 
went by, and we could not leave this spot which had been 
thought and dreamed offer so many years. We realized the 

* Italy, vol. ii. p. 227. 



48 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

feelings of the imaginative author of Vathek, when he wrote, 
" I wish his Holiness would allow me to erect a little taber- 
nacle within this glorious temple. I should desire no other 
prospect during the winter ; no other sky than the vast arches 
glowing with golden ornaments, so lofty as to lose all glit- 
ter or gaudiness. We would take our evening walks on the 
field of marble ; for is not the pavement vast enough for the 
extravagance of this appellation ? Sometimes, instead of 
climbing a mountain, we should ascend the cupola, and look 
down on our little encampment below. At night I should 
wish for a constellation of lamps dispersed about in clusters, 
and so contrived as to diffuse a mild and equal light. Music 
should not be wanted : at one time to breathe in the subter- 
ranean chapels, at another to echo through the dome." 

But the melody which Beckford desired, we were soon to 
hear. A side door opened — forth came a procession, a Cardi- 
nal and long array of priests — and we followed them to see 
what service was at hand. They swept across the Church, 
paused for a moment in the centre, and sunk upon their 
knees, with their faces turned to the High Altar, and then 
entered the chapel called the Capella del Coro. It was the 
hour for Vespers, which at once commenced. There were 
perhaps twenty in the choir, by whom the principal part of 
the service was performed, while nearly two hundred more, 
— prebendaries, canons, clerks, and choristers — were seated 
in the Chapel and joined in the responsive parts. It was the 
first time we had heard the Pope's choir, so celebrated 
throughout the world, and yet our expectations were more 
than realized. They still use those old austere chants of 
surpassing beauty, which have been handed down to them 
through centuries — the Lydian and Phrygian tunes, first in- 
troduced into the western Churches by St. Ambrose. St. 
Augustine listened to them in the Church of Milan, when he 
represents himself as being melted to tears, and even ex- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 49 

pressed the fear lest such harmonious airs might be too ten- 
der for the manly spirit of Christian devotion.* Mingled 
with these were the richer Roman chants which were collected 
by Gregory the Great, and bear his name. They sang the 
Psalms for the evening, and I rejoice that I knew they were 
uttering inspired words, for the music, as it swept by us in a 
perfect flood of harmony, seemed too sweet and heavenly to 
be addressed to any but God alone. The organ mingled its 
rich mellow tones with the voices which were thus pouring 
out their melody, sweet incense filled the Chapel as they flung 
high their golden censers, and we remained listening to the 
delicious sounds, until the whole was over, and the procession 
once more took its way through the Church. 

As we followed them out, we 'found the sun was setting, 
and we stayed to watch the effect of the gathering darkness. 
The Church was untenanted, save by some solitary worshipper 
kneeling apart, and no sound was heard except now and then 
the light tread of a Sacristan as he crossed the marble pave- 
ment. Gradually the shadows deepened — ^the building ap- 
peared more vast and solemn — the hundred lights which are 
ever burning around the tomb of St. Peter, seemed like dis- 
tant twinkling stars — the statues on the monuments grew 
more wan and phantom-like — and we departed, repeating to 
ourselves those striking lines of the pilgrim poet — 



* " Sometimes, from over jealousy, I would entirely put from me and 
from the Church the melodies of the sweet chants which we use in the 
Psalter, lest our ears seduce us ; and the way of Athanasius, Bishop of 
Alexandria, seems the safer; who, as I have often heard, made the 
reader chant with so slight a change of note, that it was more like speak- 
ing than singing. And yet, when I call to mind the tears I shed when 
I heard the chants of Thy Church in the infancy of my recovered faiih, 
and reflect that at this time I am affected, not by the mere music, but by the 
subject, brought out, as it is, by clear voices and appropriate tune ; then, 
in turn, I confess how useful is the practice." — Confessions, x. 50. 



50 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

" But thou, of temples old, or altars new, 
Standest alone — with nothing like to thee — 
Worthiest of God, the holy and the true ; 
Since Zion's desolation, when that He 
Forsook His former city, what could be. 
Of earthly stnictures, in His honor piled, 
Of a sublimer aspect ? Majesty, 
Power, glory, strength, and beauty — all are aisled 
In this eternal ark of worship undefiled." 

Yesterday it rained, and the sun this morning rose with 
that cloudless beauty, which is so often seen when the atmos- 
phere has just been cleared by a storm. The air was per- 
fectly still and clear, and we determined to avail ourselves 
of the opportunity to ascend the dome of the Church. Hav- 
ing procured the necessary permit from the Cardinal Secre- 
tary of State, we were admitted, and commenced the ascent 
by a broad stone staircase, so slightly inclined that mules 
walk up it with their loads. After a time it narrows, and 
winds around between the inner and outer domes, until pass- 
ing through a door, we find ourselves on a light gallery in 
the interior, more than three hundred feet above the pave- 
ment. The brain becomes dizzy as we look down, and see 
men appearing like insects crawling far below. The mosaic 
pictures which line the dome, and from the pavement looked 
so fair •and beautifully shaded, here seem coarse, and the- 
figures are gigantic. Nowhere else can we realize the un- 
paralleled vastness of this edifice, and for a time we stood 
and looked down in silence, while from one of the side chapels 
there came faintly and fitfully the swell of voices and the 
music of the organ, as some priests were performing there 
the morning service. 

From thence we ascended to the exterior gallery on the 
top of the dome. Here was spread out before us the same 
glorious prospect which we had already seen from the Sena- 
tor's tower on the Capitoline Hill. The morning sun was 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 51 

pouring down its beams, flooding the whole landscape with 
brightness. White, fleecy clouds still lingered about the 
distant Apennines, while a line of mist stretching far over 
the Campagna, showed the course of the Tiber. There, 
every thing spoke of repose and desolation, and the country 
spread out like a prairie with none to occupy it. We felt as 
did Rogers, when he asked — 

" Have none appeared as tillers of the ground. 
None since the^J went — as tho' it still were theirs. 
And they might come and claim their own again ] 
Was the last plough a Roman's V 

Below us were the formal gardens of the Pope, with 
their sparkling fountains, and orange groves loaded with fruit, 
while a palm tree growing near, and the stony pines, with 
their flat dark tops dispersed about, seemed to increase the 
oriental illusion of the scene. We walked over the stone roof 
of this mighty building, which covers an extent of several 
acres. How strange it seems to find at this dizzy height 
the habitations of human beings ! Yet here are the houses 
of the workmen who are always employed in the repairs of 
the edifice, so that we seem to be in the midst of a little 
village. A fountain, too, is playing by our side, throwing 
its water into a marble basin, and while the lofty parapet 
cuts off all view beyond, we can scarcely realize that we are 
not treading on the ground. About us were traces of count- 
less pilgrims, who during the last two centuries had climbed 
to the same lofty elevation, and left there their names and 
the dates of their visits. Among them was an Italian name 
carved deeply into one of the bronze balls of the railing 
around the gallery, with the date 1627. Perhaps this is the 
only trace the individual has left of his existence on the 
earth ! 

From this highest gallery at the foot of the stem which 
supports the ball and cross, a small iron ladder enables vis- 



52 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 



itors to ascend into the ball itself. It is of bronze gilt, seven 
and a half feet in diameter, and will accommodate a small 
party. There is something, however, in the idea of being 
enclosed in a ball four hundred and thirty feet from the 
ground, which gives the visitor an uneasy feeling. It seems 
to vibrate and tremble — he remembers how small is the metal 
stem which sustains it — and being, in addition, almost roasted 
by the rays of the sun on the thin copper, he is generally 
contented with a very short sojourn at this aerial height. In- 
stead of a cross, the ball was once surmounted by a large pine 
of bronze, which had before ornamented the top of the tomb of 
Hadrian. Being thrown down from St. Peter's by lightning, 
it was transferred to the gardens of the Vatican, where it 
now stands by the side of the great Corridor of Belvidere. 
It was here in the days of Dante, for when describing one of 
the monsters in the Inferno, he says — 

" His visage seem'd 
In length and bulk, as doth the pine that tops 
St. Peter's Roman fane." 

We descended again to the church, and finding one of 
the sacristans, proceeded to visit the crypts beneath it. He 
conducted us down a stairs under one of the side altars, and 
at its foot, fixed in the wall, is a marble slab, the inscription 
on which states that females are not permitted to descend 
into these vaults except on Whitsunday — on which day men 
are excluded — and if any infringe this regulation, they are 
anathematized. The reason of this absurd rule we could 
not discover. We have here below us, probably, the most 
ancient church pavement in existence ; for when the present 
sumptuous temple was erected over the first church, the pave- 
ment was left untouched. This spot indeed was chosen by 
Constantine for the first religious edifice he erected, because 
it was a part of the Circus of Nero, and consecrated by the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 63 

blood of numberless martyrs who were slaughtered in its 
arena. 

Immediately below the High Altar is what is called the 
tomb of St. Peter. As we stood beside it, we thought what 
would be the feelings of the humble fisherman of Galilee, 
could he rise from his martyr-grave, wherever it may be, 
and behold the gorgeous ceremonies of the temple which is 
called by his name. The purity of the faith for which he 
died, perverted — the simplicity of ancient worship deformed 
by countless rites, partaking of the " pride and pomp and cir- 
cumstance" of Pagan rituals — the Gospel mingled up with 
strange legends from the old mythology — his own name, 
which he only wished to be " written in heaven," now 
exalted above all human fame, and made an argument for 
blinding superstition — how would his lofty rebuke startle the 
thousands kneeling here, and echo even through the halls of 
the Vatican, as he summoned all away from the " cunningly- 
devised fables" which are taught in this glorious shrine, to 
those changeless and immutable truths which are to last while 
" eternity grows gray !" 

As we passed around^ we beheld on all sides small chap- 
els where lights are kept ever burning, and which are regard- 
ed as places of peculiar sanctity. Wherever we turned, we 
saw the tombs of those who for their services in the cause 
of the Church, or their extraordinary holiness, had been 
thought worthy of a resting place in this unequalled temple. 
Here, covered with bas-reliefs, to illustrate Scripture history, 
is the rich sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Prefect of Rome, 
who died A. D. 359. Here lie buried, Otho II of Germa- 
ny ; Charlotte, Queen of Jerusalem and Cypress ; the last 
members of the royal family of Stuart, and many of the 
Popes. Unlike most vaults of the kind, there is no dampness 
in the atmosphere, nor that chilliness which speaks so plainly 
of the grave, and it seemed as if the very balminess of the 
air took from us all thoughts of the tomb. When we again 



54 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ascended, and dropped the fee into the hand of the smiling 
young priest, we found it difficult to realize that we had been 
treading on a spot where, for fifteen centuries, the great and 
noble had found their burial place. 



CHRISTMAS-EVE AT THE SISTINE CHAPEL.— 
THE SERVICES IN ST. PETER'S ON CHRIST- 
MAS-DAY.— THE BRITISH CHAPEL. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Christmas Holydays are at hand, and on every side 
we hear the note of preparation. The shops are decorated 
with flowers, while the altars of the churches are arrayed in 
their most splendid ornaments. The images of the Virgin in 
particular are seen in their gayest dress, and all the jewelry 
which the treasury can furnish is brought out to give them 
an elegant and fashionable appearance. 

At this time, too, in addition to the varied population of 
the city — its priests, soldiers, and beggars, who together form 
the great proportion — a new accession is pouring in from the 
surrounding country. The peasants who live in the deserted 
tombs on the Campagna — the natives of the Alban mountains, 
fierce banditti-looking fellows, who gather their cloaks about 
them with a scowling air which would not be at all pleasant 
to encounter among their own hills — and the Trasteverini, 
in their picturesque costumes, boasting themselves to be the 
only true descendants of the ancient Romans, and as proud 
and haughty in their bearing as if they had also inherited the 
heroic virtues of their ancestors ; — these are to be met roam- 
ing about every street, and in the churches, gazing in wonder 
at their magnificence. 

The most singular, however, are the Calabrian minstrels, 
the pifferari. Their dress is wild and striking, consisting of 
a loose sheep-skin coat, with the wool left on it, and a high 
peaked cap, decked with gay ribbons and sprigs of heather, 
while the huge zampogne of goat-skin is formed like the bag- 



58 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

pipes of Scotland, and resembles them too in its shrill music. 
These interesting characters arrive during the last days of 
Advent, and consider themselves the representatives of the 
shepherds of Judea, who were the first to announce the news 
of the Nativity. Their usual gathering place is on the steps 
of the Piazza di Spagna, where they lounge and sleep in the 
warm sun. Every little while a party sets out on a tour 
through the city, blowing away with the most desperate 
energy. At the next corner is one of the shrines of the Madon- 
na, and this is their first stopping place, to salute the Mother 
and Child. Lady Morgan says, it is done " under the tra- 
ditional notion of charming her labor-pains on the approach- 
ing Christmas." They turn down the Via Frattina, and a 
short distance farther come to a carpenter's shop, which must 
also be favored with a tune, " per politezza al messer San 
Giuseppe," — " out of compliment to St. Joseph." The owner 
hands them out a hajoccho, and they continue their march 
until the circuit is completed. 

At sundown on Christmas eve, the cannon sounded from 
the castle of St. Angelo, to give notice that the Holy Season 
had begun. We were advised to attend service in the Sis- 
tine Chapel, and accordingly at an early hour repaired to 
the Vatican, in which it is situated. Gentlemen are only 
admitted in full dress, and ladies also are compelled to appear 
in black, their heads covered only with a veil. The en- 
trance was guarded by the Pope's harlequin-looking guards, 
in the ridiculous uniform said to have been designed by 
Michael Angelo ; and the company all gathered round them 
until the doors were opened, when they pushed in as best 
they could, jostling and being jostled. Half way up the 
chapel there is a grating, beyond which the ladies are not 
permitted to go, so that for once the gentlemen were best ac- 
commodated. At the upper end of the large area above is the 
altar, while on the sides are raised seats for the Cardinals, 
and to these we struggled up, until all further advance was 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 59 

cut off by the halberts of the guards. Here we took our 
stand, and \yaited with the most exemplary patience for the 
service to begin. 

Nearly an hour passed while the Cardinals were collect- 
ing. One by one they came into the area, their long red 
trains supported by two priests in purple dresses, and after 
kneeling for a moment on the floor, facing the altar, ascend- 
ed to their seats. Their brethren, already there, rose and 
greeted them with a stately bow, and the attendants placed 
themselves humbly at their feet. At length the music began, 
but I confess I was disappointed. It was too loud for the size 
of the chapel, and we missed the sweet sounds of the organ, 
which formed so noble an accompaniment at Vespers in St. 
Peter's. In the middle of the chapel stood a lectern, and to 
this at different parts of the service, a priest would be escort- 
ed, who, after going through his portion in a kind of recita- 
tive manner, was again in form escorted back to the door. 
These modulations, we are told by Roman Catholic writers, 
were first introduced to raise and support the voice, to extend 
its reach and soften its cadences, because its common tones 
cannot adequately be heard when the service is performed 
in a large church. They vary, howe"fer, in number and so- 
lemnity in the different parts of the service. " In the lessons 
and epistles, the interrogations, exclamations, and periods 
only are marked by a corresponding rise or fall : the Gospel 
has its variations more numerous and more dignified : the 
preface is rich in full melodies and solemn swells, borrowed, 
as it is supposed, from the stately accents of Roman tragedy. 
The Psalms, or to use an expression more appropriate, the 
anthems that commence the service, precede the Gospel, 
usher in the offertory, and follow the communion, together 
with the Gloria in excelsis and Creed, were set to more compli- 
cated and more labored notes."* The priests who officiated 

* Eustace, vol. ii. p. 81- 



60 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

this evening seemed to have been selected for their voices, 
and we certainly never heard any thing superior to them in 
compass and richness of tone. ^As with their faces turned to 
Heaven, they sang from the large golden-clasped volumes, 
it seemed to be the very perfection of the human voice.- 
There could, however, be no devotion except for those well 
acquainted with the service, and as there was great sameness 
in the singing, the audience evidently soon began to grow 
weary. For a time, therefore, I scrutinized the Cardinals, 
some of whom have magnificent heads — keen, intellectual 
looking men, well worthy to be pillars of the Vatican. 
Then I tried to make out the frescos on the ceiling, and the 
great painting of the Last Judgment by Michael Angelo, 
which occupies the end of the chapel, and is more than sixty 
feet high. But the paintings were too far off to be seen even 
by the brilliant lights around us, and the brightness of their ' 
colors has been sadly dimmed by the smoke of the candles and 
incense during the last two centuries. 

The audience seemed to be almost entirely English, and 
I suppose were Protestants. Such at least is the complaint 
of the Italians, that they can never gain admittance to the 
services of their own Church, but every place is occupied by 
foreigners. This formed the subject of one of the satirical 
witticisms of Pasquin. One night the question was affixed to 
his statue — " How shall I, being a true son of the Holy 
Church, obtain admittance to her services ?" The next night 
the answer which appeared was — " Declare that you are an 
Englishman, and swear that you are a heretic." After 
a while, the rumor began to spread round among the specta- 
tors, that the Pope was not to be present this evening, and 
therefore there would be no High Mass after Vespers. This 
news apparently made them more restless, and they began to 
thin out. One party after another passed down the line of 
guards as they stood like statues, and departed. Many went 
to the Church of St. Maria Maggiore, to see at midnight the 



THE CHRISTBIAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 61 

true cradle in which our Lord was rocked carried in proces- 
sion. Having however little taste for such exhibitions we 
did not join them. I found indeed, from the account of a 
friend who witnessed it, that we did not lose much. After 
standing for some hours in a dense crowd listening to the 
singing of the choir, a procession of priests carried the Holy- 
Relic across the Church from the sacrisity to the altar. It 
was enclosed in a splendid coffer of silver with a canopy of 
gold cloth elevated over it. Banners waved — the lighted 
tapers were held up — incense rose in clouds about it — 
the guard of soldiers, and the crowd which filled the Church 
dropped on their knees — it passed — and the whole show was 
over. 

Near midnight we took our course homeward, beneath as 
splendid a moon as ever shone, even through the transpa- 
rency of an Italian sky. In the square before St. Peter's, 
the obelisk raised its tapering point up to Heaven, and the 
fountain on each side flung high its waters, which fell in sil- 
ver spray as they reflected back the clear light of the moon. 
We stood for a while on the Bridge of St. Angelo, looking at 
its beams play upon the Tiber. That mighty fortress — Ha- 
drian's massive tomb — was frowning darkly above us, and 
the statues which lined the bridge looked pale and wan in 
the clear night, till they appeared like pallid phantoms, stead- 
fastly watching the current of time, by which they could be 
influenced no more.* 



Christmas morning fulfilled in its beauty the promise of 
the night before. It is the great Festival of the winter. The 
Papal banners are displayed from the Castle, and the streets 

* " Les rayons de la lune faisoient des statues comme des ombres 
blanches, regardant fixement couler les flots et le temps qui ne les con- 
cernent plus." Corinne. 

4. 



62 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

are filled with crowds thronging up to St. Peter's. The 
guards in their strange white and red costumes, were sta- 
tioned around the body of the Church, while at the lower 
end a body of troops were drawn up, who remained there on 
duty during the whole service. With the audience the same 
formality of dress was required as the evening before. At 
the upper end of the Church, was the magnificent throne of 
the Pope, raised quite as high as the altar which it fronted, 
and decked out most splendidly with its cloth of crimson and 
gold and the gilded mitre suspended above. Next to it on 
the sides were the seats for the Cardinals — then the boxes for 
ambassasdors and their suites — and then high platforms cov- 
ered with crimson cloth to afford seats for the ladies. The 
altar has no chancel around it, and the great area between 
its steps and the papal throne was left vacant for the perform- 
ance of the services. As my stand happened to be close to 
the ambassadors' boxes, I had an excellent view of every 
thing which took place. 

After waiting for at least an hour, suddenly there came 
a burst of music from the lower end of the Church. It was 
a loud chant, which softened by the distance floated sweetly 
through the building. Every eye was strained towards the 
spot from which it proceeded, and there, raised high on the 
shoulders of men clothed in violet-colored robes, we beheld 
the Pope borne above the heads of the kneeling multitude in 
his crimson chair, the falling drapery from which half con- 
cealed those who carried him. The gemmed Tiara was on his 
head, and his robes sparkled with jewels. On each side of 
him were carried high, fan-like banners of ostrich feathers, 
such as we see in pictures of the processions of an Eastern 
Rajah. Before him marched a Guard of Honor consisting 
of some sixty Roman noblemen, who always form his escort 
on great Festivals. Around him was his brilliant court — the 
Cardinals — the Bishops of the Greek, Armenian, and other 
Eastern Churches, in their most gorgeous array — the Heads 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 63 

of different religious Brotherhoods, in ash-colored garments — 
priests in purple and white, some bearing the Great Cross 
and lighted tapers, and some flinging in the air their golden 
censers — thus the procession came slowly on to the sound of 
anthems, — the most gorgeous show which probably ever en- 
tered a Christian Church. The Pope passed within six feet 
of where I stood. His eyes were closed — his whole counte- 
nance seemed dull and lifeless — and the constant nodding of 
his head, as the bearers walked with unsteady step, gave him 
the appearance of a mere image, splendidly decked out to 
form part of a pageant. 

At length, amid his kneeling train he was deposited on 
the pavement in front of the altar, and the guard of nobles 
ranged themselves on each side of the area up to the throne. 
He knelt for a few moments — parts of his dress were changed, 
the tiara being put upon the altar and a mitre substituted in 
its place — he joined in the psalms and prayers which precede 
the solemn service — and was escorted in state to his lofty seat, 
while the choir sang the Introitus, or Psalm of Entrance. 
Then one by one the Cardinals swept across the Church, 
their long scarlet trains borne up behind them as they walk- 
ed, and spread out so as to cover a surface of yards in ex- 
tent when they stopped, and ascending the steps they kissed 
the Pontiff's hand and the hem of his garment. 

The service of High Mass now began, in which he at 
times took part. He read the Collect — gave his benediction 
to the two deacons kneeling at his feet with the Book of the 
Gospels — commenced the Nicene creed, which the choir con- 
tinued in music — and returning to the altar, fumed it with 
incense from a golden censer, offered the usual oblations, 
and washed his hands, in token of purity of mind. When 
the elements were consecrated, two deacons brought the Sa- 
crament to the Pope, who is seated. He first revered it on 
his knees, and then received it sitting. 

But it would be impossible for me to describe the long 



64 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

and complicated service. A Cardinal officiated at the altar — 
rich and solemn music swelled out from the choir, and filled 
the mighty building in which we were — sweet incense float- 
ed through the air — thousands and thousands were gathered 
under that golden dome — and no single thing was omitted 
which could add to the magnificence of the pageant. In 
this respect it is probably unequalled in the world. Yet to 
most who were present it could have been nothing but an emp- 
ty show. The priests crossed and re-crossed — censers waved 
— candles were lighted and put out — dresses were changed 
and re-changed — the Cardinals walked back and forth, until 
the mind became utterly bewildered. All things about us in- 
deed — ^the vastness of the edifice — the works of art — ^the rich 
dresses — the splendid music — contributed to heighten the 
effect — yet, with all this, the seriousness of devotion seem- 
ed to be wanting. 

Had I known nothing of Christianity, I should have sup- 
posed the Pope to be the object of their worship. His throne 
was far more gorgeous than the altar — where they kneeled 
before the latter once, they kneeled before the former five 
times* — and the amount of incense offered before each was 
about in the same proportion. He was evidently the central 
point of attraction. The entrance of the old man, so gor- 
geously attired, among kneeling thousands, and the splendor 
of the whole service, showed more fully than ever before, 
how far the Church of Rome had wandered from the sim- 
plicity of the faith, and how much of ceremony it had sub- 
stituted for the pure worship of the early Christians. The 
day before I had gone over the service for Christmas with an 
ecclesiastic of the Romish Church, received from him every 
explanation, and I now followed it through with the Missal 

* " Never, I ween 
In any body's recollection, 
Was such a party seen 
For genuflection." 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 65 

in my hand. I wished to form an opinion for myself, and after 
investigating as far as possible the meaning of the many cere- 
monies we have witnessed, I could not but feel the truth of 
the remark I have somewhere seen, that " the- Romanist has 
been the Pagan's heir." The most interesting part to me 
was, to hear the Nicene (or rather, Constantinopolitan) 
Creed chanted in Greek immediately after it had been 
chanted in Latin. " It is to show the union of the two 
Churches," a priest most gravely told me. I thought that 
whereas the Latin Church has for centuries anathematized 
the Greek, and the Greek in turn repudiated the Latin, this 
service had about as much meaning as the title " King of 
Jerusalem," which the King of Naples still uses. 

At length the service ended. The Pope was once more 
raised on his lofty seat and carried down the Church — the 
Roman nobles formed around him — his body-guards shoul- 
dered their halberts — ^the Cardinals with their train-bearers 
fell into their places — and the gay procession went as it 
came. While it passed down, the Pope gently waved his 
hand from side to side to dispense his blessing — the immense 
multitude sunk upon their knees as he went by — until the 
train disappeared through the door, and the successor of St. 
Peter departed to his dwelling in the Vatican. Ihe released 
ecclesiastics proceeded to pay their respects to the ladies — 
violet and scarlet stockings appeared in the crowd among the 
brilliant uniforms — " nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles" 
were visible on all sides — compliments in French and Italian 
mingled into one chaos of sound — and the whole broke' up 
like a gay pleasure party. 

For some time I lingered under the colonnades to see the 
immense multitude pour out and disperse. As they passed 
down the steps and by the massive pillars, they seemed pig- 
mies in size. Before the Church, the whole square was 
alive. The crimson and gold carriages of the Cardinals, 
with their three liveried footmen hanging on behind, were 



66 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

dashing away — the troops were pouring out — military mu- 
sic was sounding — and I went home with scarcely a feeling 
to remind me that I had been at Church. 



From this gorgeous and unsatisfactory show I was glad, 
at a later hour of the day, to repair to the pure worship of 
our own Church, for I felt that thus far I had been doing 
nothing to keep the solemn Festival of the Nativity. The 
Papal power, which in our own land talks so loudly of tole- 
ration, here will not allow the worship of a Protestant within 
the bounds of "the Eternal City," and almost supported as 
its people are by the money which the thousands of English 
scatter among them, it does not permit them even to erect a 
Church in which to meet. Without the walls of the city, 
just beyond the Porta del Popolo, a large " upper room" has 
been fitted up for the British Chapel, and there on sufferance 
they gather each week. There is no organ — no singing — 
every thing is as plain and simple as possible. Yet never 
did I so much enjoy the services of the Church as on this oc- 
casion. Never did I feel so grateful to the Reformers of the 
Church of England, that at the cost of their own lives they 
had bequeathed to us primitive purity. I thought of the 
time when eighteen centuries ago, while the magnificence of 
a Heathen Ritual was going on in old Rome, perhaps some 
little band of Christians had met beyond its walls, in seclu- 
sion to offer up their simple worship. How great must have 
been the contrast between the two scenes — the splendor of 
those forms and ceremonies with which thousands bowed 
around the altars of the Capitoline Jupiter, and the simplicity 
and purity with which the few disciples of Christ prayed to 
their crucified Master ! 

" Did you receive much spiritual benefit from the services 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 67 

at St. Peter's this morning ?" said a friend to me as we were 
leaving the British Chapel. " Yes," I answered, " indirect- 
ly, I received much ; for it taught me to realize the value of 
our own services as I never did before, and I trust therefore 
to use them for the rest of my life with greater benefit. It 
is the contrast between the Church in the days of Leo X 
and in the time of Constantino." 



THE CAPITOLINE HILL. 



4* 



CHAPTER V. 

We have devoted this morning to antiquities ; and as 
strangers in winter all congregate about the Piazza di Spagna 
— which, by the way, is the site of the old Circus of Domitian 
— we were obliged to pass through the whole extent of the 
city to reach the Capitoline Hill, which was our first point. 
We went through the Corso, and by the old Venetian palace, 
and then threaded our way among the labyrinth of narrow 
filthy streets, until we found ourselves at the base of the 
Hill, On its top once stood the pride of Rome, the Temple 
of Jupiter Capitolinus, which was filled with the ofierings 
of Princes and Kings, and the treasures of a conquered 
world. The whole earth was ransacked to add to its glory, 
and even the columns of Pentelic marble which adorned its 
front, were brought from the distant plains of the Ilissus, 
where Grecian genius had placed them to form the portico 
of one of its own beautiful temples. But it has passed away 
so completely, that its very site is a subject of antiquarian 
dispute. 

A magnificent flight of marble steps — Abroad enough for an 
army to mount with its ranks unbroken — leads up the Hill. 
At its base stand two basalt lions — old Egyptian monuments, 
brought from some ancient temple whose faith has long since 
perished, and bearing the impress of every thing which comes 
from that mysterious land. Colossal and frowning, with that 
strange unearthly expression of countenance which Egyptian 
sculptors seem always to give, conveying the idea of some- 



72 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

thing mystic and awful, these solemn antique figures remain 
age after age, gazing fixedly and severely forward, as if the 
silent witnesses of all the deeds of darkness and fear which are 
going on in the changing city below them. They are fit 
guardians of " the staircase of the Lion," at the head of which 
so much noble blood had been shed, when it was the spot on 
which for ages state criminals paid the forfeit of their lives. 
The broad platform at the summit — " the Place of the Lion" 
— where these tragedies were enacted in the view of all 
Rome, while the bell from the Capitol above tolled mourn- 
fully and slow to show that a soul was passing away — is now 
filled with antique statuary, the colossal forms which have 
been preserved from the wreck of the Republic and the Em-' 
pire. In its centre once stood a gigantic image of Jupiter 
Capitolinus, made from the armor taken from the Samnites 
in the fifth century from the building of the city, and so lofty 
that it could be seen from the Mons Latialis, near Albano, a 
distance of twenty miles.* Its site is now occupied by the 
magnificent equestrian figure of Marcus Aurelius, the finest 
in existence. In the fourteenth century the place of the 
Statue was in front of the Lateran, and it bore a prominent 
part in that gorgeous show, when Rienzi the Tribune cited 
to appear personally before him, the Kings of Bavaria and 
Bohemia, to plead their own cause and prove their claim to_ 
the title of Emperor of Rome — a proud challenge in behalf 
of the liberties of Italy which his opposers have always ridi- 
culed as the splendid folly of an enthusiastic mind, while his 
friends have lauded it as the sublime daring of a noble na- 
ture. When the historians of the day describe that royal 
banqueting, they cite in proof of its lavish profusion, that 
from morn till eve, wine poured forth like a fountain from 
the nostrils of this horse. 

The summit of the Hill, around the three sides of "the 

* Pliny, lib. xxxiv. c 18. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 7? 

Place of the Lion," is occupied by palaces, built by Paul III, 
from the designs of Michael Angelo. The centre is the Palace 
of the Senator, which we have before mentioned — a vast un- 
occupied building, where some inferior courts of justice at 
times are held, and whose great bell hangs silent in the tow- 
er above, being never rung except on the death of a Pope, or 
to proclaim that the Carnival has begun. The proud ini- 
tials S. P. Q. R., are placed over the entrance and still car- 
ried in processions, recalling as if by a sort of mockery the 
palmy days of the republic. The Senator too — for that au- 
gust body has dwindled down to one man — is still appointed, 
and the Romans say, " the senator represents the people." 
His office however is a mere shadow, its most weighty duty 
being that of carrying the sacramental vessels between the 
High Altar and the Pope on the Great Festivals of the Church, 
and its highest privilege that of standing in a picturesque 
dress on the second step of the Papal throne during some 
great ceremony. 

The palaces on the other two sides of the square are used 
as Museums, principally for the works of antique art. It is 
places like these indeed which enable Rome to preserve her 
supremacy over the world, ruling now in the realms of taste 
as she once did in those of arms and religion. Within her 
walls are gathered most that the wreck of time has left of 
beauty from the creations of Greece or ancient Rome, or the 
still older attempts of Egypt and Etruria. And all these are 
freely opened to the pilgrim to this land. The. labors of art 
are before him, from its achievements in far distant ages, 
when men dimly imagined a grace which they were not able 
to embody, down to its perfect triumph in creations which 
more than realize "his brightest dreams. Here are forms 
steeped in an atmosphere of beauty, and he can dwell upon 
them until his own taste has grown into faultless purity. 

Let us enter then these palaces, and at once we have the 
realization of what we have just written. Sculpture has 



74 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

preserved the heroes of all times and countries, and they are 
before us with the life which characterized them, when the 
artist so admirably arrested and fixed in enduring marble, 
the passing expression. These halls are crowded with their 
busts and statues, and now there is gathered on this hill a 
nobler assemblage of Consuls and Princes and Dictators, 
than ever trod its temples in their living day.* When the 
sunlight plays on them, you are dazzled by the reflection of 
the white marbles, as the animated figures seem often start- 
ing from their pedestals. But nobler even than these life- 
like copies of " men of like passions with ourselves," are 
the forms of beauty which the artist created when he gave 
himself up to his worship of the Ideal. We meet with group 
after group which realizes the dreams we had over the 
studies of our boyhood, and calls up again the bright legends 
of the Grecian faith. Here is the heroic beauty of the Apollo, 
while the shrinking loveliness of many a fabled goddess con- 
trasts with the austere and majestic lineaments of " the cloud- 
compelling Zeus." And mingled with them is that antique 
sacerdotal sculpture, the only memorial of the vanished faith 
which once prevailed on the banks of the Nile. Thus the 
spoils of art have been widely gathered, from the temples of 
old Egypt, from the Porticos of Athens, and the Forum of 
ancient Rome. 

We passed a morning among these treasures which the 

* It is curious to mark how faithfully the marble has transmitted to 
us the difference between the early Romans and the late Emperors. The 
former have something noble and elevated in their looks, while those who 
in the last ages of the Empire were called to the throne from the seraglio, 
or the ranks of a barbarian army, show in every lineament their mixed 
blood and vicious habits. A similar change may be seen in the busts of 
the Medici in the vestibule of the Galeria Imperiale at Florence. In 
every generation you can mark the deterioration. There is a regular 
series of stages from the stern countenance of Cosmo I. and the magni- 
ficent head of Lorenzo, down to the silly face of Gaston, the profligate 
buffoon, with whom the family expired in 1737. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 75 

Past has bequeathed to us ; but when we now look back upon 
them, all seem dimly remembered, or rather almost effaced 
by the vivid recollection of one single statue — the dying 
GLADIATOR. Standing in the centre of a hall to which it 
gives the name, it is the gem of the whole collection. We 
had often seen casts of it, but they are utterly wanting in the 
effect produced by the great original. They fail entirely in 
conveying any distinct idea of its excellence. 

The figure is a little larger than nature, and represents him 
as wounded in the fight, with life just ebbing away. He is 
reclining on his sword and shield, which have fallen beneath 
him, and has raised himself languidly on one arm, as if to 
try how much strength remains. The limbs seem to be 
gently yielding from languor, as weakness creeps over him, 
and he is gradually falling to the ground. He is evidently 
insensible to all that is passing around, and absorbed with 
his own situation. The countenance is deeply sorrowful 
and expressive of agony, but we see that it is more than 
mere physical suffering. There seems to be a conflict going 
on within, which is shown in the despair of the eye — the 
bitter writhing of the lip — the wrinkled brow — and the ab- 
stracted air of the whole visage. Melancholy emotions 
insensibly creep over us as we look upon him ; and herein 
was shown the artist's skill, that he should excite these feel- 
ings by the mere touching display of a fellow-being in con- 
flict with death. Its power indeed rests on nothing but an 
appeal to our common interests in humanity, for there are 
no adventitious circumstances to call forth our sympathies. 
There is no heroic interest about the Gladiator. It is not the 
fall of one whose name is written in history, or whose fate 
can at all affect the world. It is nothing but the death of a 
slave — as the cord round his neck proves him to be — yet we 
are forced to gaze with sympathies which can be awakened 
by no other statue in existence. The Gladiator's last fight is 
over — the sweat is yet upon his brow, clotting together the 



76 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

thick locks of hair — his exhausted strength is just suffering 
him to sink to the earth — and it seems as if in a few mo- 
ments more he would pass away, and be at once forgotten 
among the thousands who thus fall in the arena. Yet he is 
a man, in the solemn hour of death, and so well has the 
artist told this fact, that he appeals at once to every kindly 
feeling in our common nature. And as genius has always 
an affinity with genius, we find that one of the noblest pas- 
sages in Childe Harold is the embodiment, in the language 
of poetry, of what this ancient and unknown sculptor has so 
well expressed in marble — 

" I see before me the gladiator lie : 
He leans upon his hand — his manly brow 
Consents to death, but conquers agony. 
And his droop'd head sinks gradually low — 
. And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow 
From the red gash, fall heavily, one by one/ 
Like the first of a thunder-shower ; and now 
The arena swims around him — he is gone. 
Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hail'd the wretch who won. 

He heard it, but he heeded not — his eyes 
Were with his heart, and that was far away ; 
He reck'd not of the life he lost, nor prize. 
But where his rude hut by the Danube lay. 
There were his young barbarians all at play. 
There was their Dacian mother — he their sire, 
Butcher'd to make a Roman holyday. 
All this rush'd with his blood. Shall he expire. 
And unavenged ? Arise, ye Goths, and glut your ire !" 

Was this the idea which the artist intended to develop ? 
We know not, nor does it matter. We are satisfied with 
the interpretation of the pilgrim-poet. But after examining 
most of the noblest masterpieces of antiquity which remain, 
we find none on which the memory dwells with the iiaterest 
it does on this single statue, which, as we gaze, calls back 
eighteen centuries, and transports us to the arena of Roman 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 77 

sports. The Apollo, noble as it is, appeals only to the ima- 
gination. Even the Venus de Medici — the glory of fair 
Florence — touches not the deepest feelings. You seem in- 
deed, as you stand at its pedestal, to inhale an atmosphere 
of beauty, until you are forced to confess the power of 
antique art, and realize that the old poetical mythology 
must have furnished inspiration to genius. You turn away 
at last " dazzled and drunk with beauty," but this is all. 
There is no appeal to the heart, and therefore we give the 
preference to the Dying Gladiator, and remember it as the 
very perfection of what can be wrought by the chisel. 

Leaving the Museum, we passed around the base of the 
Hill, and came to the side which formerly overlooked the 
ancient city. But where all this magnificence once stood, 
nothing is now to be seen but ruins. One tide of desolation 
after another swept over it, until finally, what remained was 
ravaged by the Normans under Robert Guiscard, when the 
Capitol, the Coliseum, and all the surrounding antiquities, 
seem to have been hopelessly shattered. He had been sum- 
moned to the relief of his ally, Gregory VII, besieged by 
the Emperor Henry in the Castle of St. Angelo. The Ger- 
man army having been forced to retire, the Pope was led in 
triumph to his ancient palace of the Lateran. It was how- 
ever a rescue dearly purchased by the Roman Pontiff*. On 
the third day the people rushed to arms, and commenced the 
indiscriminate massacre of their invaders. Overpowered by 
numbers, Guiscard at last gave the order to fire the city ; and 
when the sun set behind the Tuscan hills, Gregory looked out 
from his windows on a scene of woe, of which Rome was for 
centuries to bear the traces. The whole sky was reddened by 
flames, while the fierce Saracens — who composed a part of 
the Norman army — gratified their hatred of Christianity by 
plundering every church and altar. The fires swept on until 
two-thirds of the city were destroyed, and the noblest menu- 



78 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ments of Mediseval Rome had perished. Then, at last, Guis- 
card reigned unopposed amidst the smoking ruins of this 
ancient splendor ; but Gregory — fearful of a population more 
hostile to him than ever — fled from the city, shortly after to 
die in exile. 

The whole of the Esquiline seems at that time to have been 
laid waste, and no attempt has since been made to restore its 
monuments. The modern city grew up on the other side of 
the Hill, and the site of ancient Rome was abandoned to des ■ 
olation, as if a spell rested over it. As we gazed down upon 
its hoary rums, all seemed silent and lonely ; not a living crea- 
ture visible but a solitary artist, who sitting on the base of a 
fallen column was sketching some of the time-worn monu- 
ments. 

Here was the site of the old Forum, " the field," in which — 
Lord Byron tells us — " a thousand years of silenced factions 
sleep." It was evidently once surrounded by a colonnade, 
which must have given it somewhat the form and appearance 
of the Palais Royal in Paris, or the Piazza San Marco in 
Venice. We stood within it, where Cicero had pleaded, and 
countless schemes of ambition run their wild career. Above 
our heads towered high on the one side, eight granite col- 
umns which once formed the portico to the Temple of Ves- 
pasian ; while on the other side stand three lofty fluted Co- 
rinthian columns, the sole remains of the temple of Saturn. 
How strange they look as they are seen in contrast with the 
deep blue of the Italian sky, so tall and solitary, supported 
by no wall and with no roof above, nothing near but the ivy 
which wreaths itself around and falls in graceful festoons 
from their sculptured capitals ! Round and round the ruined 
Forum pass their lonely shadows, as if this was Time's dial, and 
he had placed them there to mark his ages as they went by. 
Before us was the magnificent triumphal arch of Septimiu s 
Severus, its statues still remaining and its inscriptions unef- 



THE CHEISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 79 

faced, while at the lower end of the Forum, near the Portico 
of Vespasian, rises in lonely grandeur that solitary pillar to 
which Byron refers in the line — 

" The nameless column with a .buried base." 

It would have been well perhaps for our interest in this 
monument, if its origin had always remained thus myste- 
riously concealed. Later excavations however have proved 
that it was erected in honor of the Emperor Phocas, one of the 
most despicable of mortals. He was a sanguinary usurper, 
whom his own people having abandoned to the Persians — 
whose envoy he had burned alive — he was taken by them 
and put to death. And yet the base of this column bears 
the inscription — " To the most clement and felicitous Prince 
Phocas, Emperor, the adored and crowned conqueror, always 
august," &;c. 

Leaving the Forum, we stood beneath the Arch of Titus. 
More than fifty generations have passed away since this 
monument was reared to commemorate the destruction of 
Jerusalem ; yet on its worn and broken compartments we can 
still trace the story it recorded. In the distance are imagined 
in relief, the fearful accompaniments of a city taken by as- 
sault — old men and women and children gathered into 
groups, and around them an enraged and brutal soldiery. 
On one side are seen the Temple walls riven by fire, and 
just tottering to their fall, while in the foreground is the 
triumphal procession of the victors as once it swept over this 
very spot, and, amidst the shoutings of the Roman populace, 
ascended to the Capitol. Slowly and sadly walk the captive 
Jews, bearing irf their hands the spoils of their holy worship. 
The tables of shew-bread — the seven-branched golden can- 
dlestick — the Jubilee trumpets — and the incense vessels are 
there, copied from the originals.* On the opposite side of 

* It is interesting to inquire what became of these sacred relics. 
Josephus says, (De Bello Jud. lib. vii. c. v.) that the veil and books of 



80 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

the Arch, is seen the triumphal chariot of Titus, drawn by- 
four horses. He is standing within it, while Victory is 
crowning him with laurel, and around are the crowds of his 
rejoicing army, lictors carrying the fasces, and the captives 
dragged in chains. Even to this day the crushed and stricken 
Jew will not walk under this monument of his country's 
fall, but passes round it, and winds his way by the ruins of 
the Temple of Peace, or else among the crumbling relics of 
the Palatine mount. Yet^ time has brought its retribution, 
and now the persecuted Israelite, as he stands by this monu- 
ment of Hebrew desolation, may see the palaces of the Im- 
perial family one mountain of ruins. 

It is from this spot indeed that we have the noblest view 
of these ancient remains. Here, all around are the monu- 
ments of the past. Behind us is the Forum and the scene 
we have described — before us, the Arch of Constantine, and 
the Coliseum, the noblest relic of old Rome — on the one side 
are the massive ruins of the temple of Antoninus and Faus- 
tina, that of Venus and Rome, and the Basilica of Constan- 
tine — on the other side is the palace of the Csesars, covering 
the whole Palatine mount like the wreck of a mighty city, 
walls and arches and porticos mingled with the vineyards, 
and massive columns peeping up through the long grass, or 



the law were placed in the palace at Rome, and the candlestick and other 
spoils in the Temple of Peace. The golden fillet is mentioned as late as 
the time of Hadrian. When Genseric entered Rome, among other spoils 
which he carried to Africa, were the Hebrew vessels. On the conquest 
of the Vandals by Belisarius, A. D. 520, they were recovered and taken 
to Constantinople. Procopius states, that a Jew advised the Emperor 
not to put them in his palace, as they could not remain any where else 
but where Solomon had placed them ; and this was the reason why the 
palace in Rome had been taken, and afterwards the Vandals conquered. 
The Emperor therefore, alarmed, sent them to the Christian churches at 
Jerusalem. (Burton, vol. i. p. 236.) From that time all trace of them 
is lost. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 81 

dimly seen among the ivy which hangs in thick festoons 
about them. 

On our return we came to the entrance of the old Mamer- 
tine prisons, which are built under the base of the Capitoline 
Hill. Livy tells us they were begun by Ancus Martius, 
and we know that in these gloomy chambers, Jugurtha was 
starved to death, the accomplices of Catiline were strangled 
by order of Cicero, and Sejanus, the minister of Tiberius, 
was executed. Sallust, in describing it, says — " The appear- 
ance of it from the filth, the darkness, and the smell, is ter- 
rific " — and such, we can well believe, must in that day 
have been the case. Tradition has consecrated this prison 
as the one in which St. Peter was confined, and in the six- 
teenth century a Chapel was therefore erected over it, the 
walls of which are now covered with votive offerings from 
those who ascribe their cure to prayers ofiered at its altars. 

Here we procured a guide with lighted tapers and com- 
menced our descent into the dungeons. A flight of twenty- 
eight stone steps led us into the upper cell. It is about 
twenty-seven feet by twenty, constructed of large masses of 
peperino, without cement, and showing by its very construc- 
tion its high antiquity and Etruscan origin. From the first 
chamber a still farther descent brought us into the lower 
one, which is only about nine feet wide, and six high. The 
massive stones of the roof, instead of being formed on the 
principle of an arch, point horizontally to a centre. There 
was formerly no entrance to either, except by a circular 
aperture above, through which the prisoners were lowered, 
and a corresponding aperture in the floor of the upper cell 
to lead into the lower. A more horrible dungeon could not 
well be imagined. There is a stone pillar on one side, 
which our guide — a young priest — pointed out to us as the 
one to which St. Peter was chained, and in the centre, well- 
ing up through an opening in the stone floor, is a fountain 
which is said to have miraculously sprung up, to enable him 



82 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

to baptize his jailers, Processus and Martinian. The story 
is of course intended to be an improvement on the baptism 
at Philippi. Our guide also pointed out to us in the hard 
rock, the impression of a man's face. His story was, that 
when the soldiers thrust St. Peter into this gloomy dungeon, 
it was done with such violence that he fell against the wall. 
The hard stone immediately yielded, as if it had been soft, 
received the impression of the apostle's face, and there it is 
to this day. It may have been a freak of nature, but we 
should think it was artificial. We asked the young priest if 
he believed the legend, but could get no definite answer. 
He only laughed and evaded the question. It was evident 
to us, that like the ancient philosophers, he had an esoteric 
and an exoteric doctrine. 

From this spot commenced the Via Sacra, where Horace 
tells us he was accustomed to walk — " Nescio quid meditans 
nugarum, et totus in illis." Centuries of rubbish had 
gathered over it, so that the surface of the ground was here 
many feet higher than formerly, half burying the columns 
which stand around. When the French held Rome, they 
commenced excavations which have since been constantly 
carried on, until the old pavement under the Arch of Severus 
was uncovered, and we may now tread the same causeway 
which formerly echoed to the step of the warriors and poets 
of old Rome. Had we some magic wand to wave back the 
triumphal processions which in " the purple days" of the 
Empire passed over these stones, what a gorgeous picture 
would they form ! Captive kings — princes from the far East, 
of strange language and costume — wild beasts dragged from 
the forests of Africa, to grace a triumph or contend in the 
Coliseum with men scarcely less savage — cars and chariots, 
loaded with the spoils of rifled cities — and the armed legions 
of Rome in all the bravery of their conquests — ^these would 
swell the long array which swept before us. 

We passed once more around the Hill, to find the Tar- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 83 

peian Rock, down which in the days of the republic traitors 
were hurled and dashed to pieces at its base. Though sur- 
rounded with buildings, and the soil accumulated below, yet 
it is still plainly visible on the southern side of the Capito- 
line, facing the Tiber. We threaded our way among the 
narrow streets beneath, and ascending, passed through a 
garden, when we found ourselves standing on the brink of an 
abrupt precipice, at least seventy feet in height. It needed 
not the " Ecco ! Rupe Tarpeja !" of our ragged guide, the 
custode of this classical spot, for we recognized it at once as 
the place described by Seneca, when he says — " It is chosen 
that the criminals may not require to be thrown down more 
than once." And here, in the ancient days of Rome, suffered 
those who forgot their allegiance and plotted against her 
liberty ! 

" The steep 

Tarpeian, fittest goal of Treason's race. 
The promontory whence the Traitor's leap 
Cured all ambition." 



THE VATICAN. 



5 



CHAPTER VI. 

We have spent several days in different parts of the 
Vatican. The gardens at some seasons of the year are very 
pleasant, although arranged too much in the dull uniformity 
which was the fashion a century ago. When we visited 
them in the month of January, the oranges were ripe upon 
the trees, and flowers were blooming around us. They con- 
tain some beautiful fountains, and some which are tortured 
into the most grotesque shapes, as if to deviate as far from 
nature as possible. Like every other part of Rome, we find 
here, also, some antiquities — vases, columns, and statues, 
which have been dug up from the ruins of the ancient city. 
It was in these gardens that Pius VII. was accustomed to 
give audience to ladies, a custom which his successor has 
abandoned, having transferred his presentations to the apart- 
ments of the Vatican. 

The manufactory of mosaics is also an interesting place 
to visit, particularly after seeing the magnificent pictures in 
St. Peter's. It is under the government of the Court, and 
few of its works are allowed to be sold. The greater part 
are intended for the adornment of churches, or else as pre- 
sents to different crowned heads. The number of tints used 
amounts to about, ten thousand, and some of the large pictures 
take from twelve to twenty years to complete. It requires, 
therefore, not only care and patience, but also a high degree 
of artistical skill. These little tesserce are put in rough, and 



88 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN I^OME. ^ 

the full effect cannot of course be seen until the whole surface 
is polished, when alterations cannot well be made. 

We passed one morning in the Halls containing the 
Library of the Vatican, which is well known as being, in 
some respects, the finest in the world. It was probably- 
formed at. a very early period, as it is not likely that men 
like St. Damasus, (in the fourth century,) who was celebrated 
for his learning, would have been unprovided with the means 
of study. We find, however, no express record of it before 
the days of Hilary, (A. D. 467,) who established two Libraries 
in the Basilica of the Lateran palace. In the sixth century 
we first hear of the Bibliothecarius of the Apostolical Library, 
an office which has been filled to the present day. In the 
eighth century, the collection begun by Hilary was trans- 
ferred to the Basilica of St. Peter's, and received constant 
additions. Then follow several centuries in which we find 
nothing bnt casual allusions to the Papal Library, though 
scattered through this period are the works of Roman writers, 
which could not have been composed without the aid of many 
books, and particularly those of ancient authors. We con- 
sider this, therefore, one proof that the Library must not 
only have then been in existence, but also extending its in- 
fluence. 

During the vicissitudes and troubles of the Papal See, in 
the days when rival Popes were contending for the Tiara, it 
seems lo have been well preserved. When Clement V. re- 
moved to Avignon, he took with him the literary treasures of 
the See. At the end of the secession, Martin V. restored 
them to Rome, and they have since been constantly increas- 
ing. During the revival of literature under Leo X., that 
pontiff sent learned men through the whole East to purchase 
Oriental manuscripts to add to this collection. Its number 
of printed books is much smaller than is usually supposed, 
not exceeding thirty thousand. It is in manuscripts that the 
library is so particularly rich, numbering nearly twenty-four 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 89 

thousand ; some of them as old as the fifth century, and 
others richly illuminated with pictures and miniatures, to 
execute which must have been the labor of many years. 

We found the anteroom filled with portraits of the Libra- 
rians, and immediately enquired of the custode which was 
the picture of Assemanni ? But he told us, alas ! that the 
collection was limited to those who had attained the dignity 
of Cardinal, and as such had not been the case with either of 
the Assemanni, both were excluded ; and yet, the fruits of 
the researches which they sent forth to the world, will pre- 
serve their names lono- after most of the Cardinals whose 
portraits grace these walls have been forgotten. In the long 
list of librarians indeed, we doubt whether any were as con- 
versant as Joseph Assemanni with the rich treasures of the 
Vatican. Scarcely stirring beyond these precincts, he ex- 
plored them year after year, suffering no other earthly interest 
to mingle with his literary dreams, and so absorbed in the 
pursuit that the remembrances of early youth faded away, 
and he forgot even his own distant Syrian home. And when 
at last he was laid in the cemetery at Rome — his biographer 
tells us — that he sorrowed as much to part from the treasures 
of the Vatican, as from his decaying life.* 

There is little, however, to be seen by a mere visit to this 
stupendous collection. The manuscripts cannot be examined 
except by an express order, while the books are enclosed in 

* Pasquin made the appointment of Assemanni the subject of one of 
his witticisms. His two predecessors had been flolstenius, who had ab- 
jured Protestantism, and Leo Allatius, a chian. When, therefore, a 
Syrian was next appointed, the following distich appeared : — 

" Prsefuit haereticus. Post hunc, scismaticus. 

At nunc 
Turco proeest. Petri bibliotheca, vale !" 

We believe, indeed, that Assemanni was never so complete a Roman- 
ist as to overcome his Syrian prejudices, and that his church therefore 
regards with much more favor the Oriental researches of Renardot. 



90 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

wooden presses, so that not a volume is seen. There is no- 
thing, therefore, of a literary air about it, as in the Bihli- 
otheque du Roi in Paris, or the Bodleian in England, where 
you see the walls crowded to the ceiling with the labors of 
the learned. You may pass through these long halls with- 
out a suspicion that you are in a library. Nothing is to be 
seen but painted cabinets, Etruscan vases, and pictures of the 
early Councils of the Church. In one of the last galleries 
are collected all the objects of interest belonging to the early 
Christians, which were found in the Catacombs. Here are 
their personal ornaments — ^the sepulchral lamps — paintings 
— and the instruments of torture by which so many suffered 
martyrdom. A sight of these things transports us back to 
the early ages of persecution. We look upon the very hooks 
and pointed instruments which tore the flesh of those who 
"counted not their lives dear unto themselves " when they 
were to be preserved by apostacy from Christ. 

It would be useless to attempt to describe the different parts 
of the Vatican. It is almost a city in itself. Murray tells 
us, that " it has eight grand stair-cases, two hundred smaller 
stair-cases, twenty courts, and four thousand four hundred 
and twenty-two apartments." We will select, therefore, 
only a few of the principal parts. 

We succeeded one morning in obtaining admission into 
the Sistine Chapel at a time when there was light enough to 
see the paintings. In the large saloon which leads to it, the 
walls are covered with frescoes, one of which, representing 
the Massacre of St. Bartholemew's, might as well have been 
omitted, it not being a triumph of which the Church of Rome 
should be particularly proud. In the Papal mint, however, 
can be seen a medal which was struck in honor of the same 
occasion. The glory of the Sistine Chapel has always been 
the great fresco of the Last Judgment, by Michael Angelo, 
which entirely covers one end. It is chiefly remarkable 
for the boldness of its drawing, the great number of figures 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 91 

introduced, and of course, the anatomical details.* The 
blessed are there, rising from their graves, ascending into 
Heaven, and received by angels ; while demons are seiz- 
ing the condemned and dragging them down to the pit. It 
of course gave opportunity to the artist to display his great 
power, as every possible passion was to be delineated ; but 
the picture is half heathenish. In the foreground is Charon, 
in his ferry-boat, rowing the groups over the Styx, and 
striking the refractory with his oar. This, however, was in 
accordance with the spirit of the age ; and Michael Angelo 
only painted the retributions of Eternity as Dante had de- 
scribed them. 

It may be a great want of taste, yet the pictures of 
Michael Angelo are not those on which we could ever look 
with pleasure. They seem more intended as a study for 
artists, who can dwell with delight upon the skill of the fore- 
shortening and the grandeur of the design, than they do to 
excite the admiration of the unlearned. This very picture 
is a fair illustration of his style. It is full of sublimity, yet 
there is nothing to touch the heart. We shrink back from the 
stern and terrific Being who is hurling down his foes to the 
torments of the condemned. We recognize not the Son of 
God as we have always thought of Him. He is here only 
the terrible Minister of vengeance. The artist too seems to 
take a savage delight in delineating the miseries of the lost, 
and even uses the divine skill with which Heaven had en- 
dowed him, to minister to his revenge. The inspiration he 
had imbibed was not lofty enough to enable him to forget the 
strife and bitterness of private life, and therefore he con- 
demns his enemies to immortality by painting their portraits 
among the damned. "j* 

* In 1841, the favorite ballet at the French Opera in Paris, was 
called, " The Infernal Gallopade of the Last Judgment," all the attitudes 
of which were taken from this picture. 

t This seems to have been somewhat the fashion of the age. Dante 



92 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Look too at his pictures of the Holy Family, even the 
most celebrated of all, which is in the Tribune at Florence. 
It possesses no characteristics of grace or beauty. His Ma- 
donna is a noble looking woman, fitted to be the ancestress 
of a race of heroes, but that is all. There is nothing soft 
and attractive in the countenance — none of that touching 
loveliness which we should wish to recognize in the Mother 
of our Lord. For these traits we must look to the pictures 
of Raphael and Poussin. His infant Saviour too only 
suggests to us the idea of a young Hercules. We should 
pronounce him, " a noble boy," but seek in vain in his linea- 
ments for any thing divine. There is, however, one paint- 
ing by Michael Angelo, which belongs to the class of subjects 
he should always have chosen. It is the Parcce, in the 
Pitti palace at Florence — a strange looking picture, with 
very little coloring, so that it seems unfinished. It is a bold 
design of the three Fates — grave, thoughtful and severe — 
spinning and cutting the thread of human life. The con- 
ception is Dante-like, and one well suited to the character 
of the artist's mind. Lord Byron has somewhere recorded 
his admiration of this picture. 

In truth, the mind of Michael Angelo was too fiery and 
impetuous to enable him to execute the high finish of paint- 
ing, and he therefore always prided himself most on being a 
sculptor. His signature generally was, Michel Agnolo Biio- 
narotti, Scultore, and in one of his letters to Varchi, he says, 
that " Sculpture is to painting, what the sun is to the moon." 
We are told that he often struck and hewed at the block of 
marble with a desperate energy, as if struggling with it to 

records in his poems his partialities as a partisan, and places his enemies 
in the Inferno, while Da Vinci, in his Last Supper, gives Judas the like- 
ness of one who had offended him. How different from our own Milton, 
who, bitter as he was as a politician, when he had " his garland and his 
singing robes about him," seemed to shake from his wings all the en- 
tanglements of earth, and to soar into a purer, holier region ! 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 96 

extricate the form which in his imagination he saw con- 
cealed. For a noble evidence of his talent, we should look 
at his statues of the gloomy Lorenzo and the armed Julian in 
the Church of San Lorenzo at Florence — as Rogers describes 
them — " two ghosts, sitting on their sepulchres." His own 
family seem to have taken the same view of his character- 
istics, and when his fellow-citizens were raising his splendid 
monument in the church of Santa Croce, and according to 
the original design Painting was to have stood in front of the 
sepulchre, his relatives remonstrated most urgently. As 
they considered his peculiar excellence to have been man- 
ifested in Sculpture, they contended that it should have the 
post of honor, and the whole arrangement of the statues was 
accordingly altered. 

But to return to the Vatican. We passed, on our way, 
through the Loggia of Raphael — open porticoes covered with 
fresco paintings from the Old Testament. The first — the 
Creation — is one of those pictures so often attempted in the 
Church of Rome, in which all reverence seems to be forgot- 
ten. It represents the wildness of chaos — clouds, and dark- 
ness, and the war of elements — and above is a venerable old 
man, throwing himself upon it, to reduce to order the materi- 
als of the universe, and to separate light from darkness. It 
is a vain attempt to convey by sensible objects, an idea of 
that scene which the words of Inspiration bring before us so 
sublimely in the single sentence — " And God said, ' Let 
there be light,' and there was light." 

On every Monday and Thursday the Museum of the 
Vatican is open, and filled by eager hundreds, who are 
gathered in groups through every part of its marble galleries, 
studying these triumphs of human genius. Here, and in the 
Museum on the Capitoline Hill, are to be found all that sur- 
vive the wars and devastations which have swept over Rome 
— all that her ancient conquerors brought from Greece — 
and all that her own artists learned to create, with these 

5* 



94 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

lifelike forms of Athenian sculpture as their models. And 
year after year, as new treasures were discovered among 
the buried ruins of the old city, this collection has been in- 
creasing, till it now has become well worthy of an artist's 
pilgrimage from any quarter of the earth. Here he will see 
in some shape embodied, all those forms of beauty which 
have been flitting like dim phantoms through his brain. 

It takes a morning merely to walk through this collection. 
Long galleries — sometimes a thousand feet in length — are 
each devoted to a particular subject. One is filled with 
Greek inscriptions from the old tombs — another with busts — 
another with sculptures of animals — another with vases— 
another with antique candelabra — while at every turn are 
sarcophagi, and altars, and Roman baths, which have been 
dug up among the ruins. The names of some of these Halls 
— "the Cabinet of the Masks"— "the Hall of the Muses" — 
" the Hall of the Biga" — may convey some idea of their 
contents. Old Egypt is represented here, ever the same, 
with her strange uncouth figures — melancholy Sphinxes — 
and gods mingling the monster with the man. The influ- 
ence of intellectual Greece too is every where visible, and 
we see how her worship of beauty softened and refined the 
stern grandeur of her conquerors. 

Here, in a circular Hall by itself, as if nothing else was 
worthy to stand by its side, is the Apollo Belvedere, and 
around its pedestal are always collected a group, studying 
its matchless beauty. It is not the mere development of a 
human form, but rather, the gathering into one of some poet's 
unearthly conceptions — the expression of an ideal beauty 
which never really existed. In looking at it, we forget every 
thing physical, in comparison with the soul which beams 
forth in every feature. He stands, with arm extended, as 
if the arrow had just parted from the bow, and secure that it 
would reach its mark, he is tracking its course. Childe Harold 
speaks of the "beautiful disdain" visible in " the eye and 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 95 

nostril." It is stamped indeed on the whole countenance, as 
if he felt an Immortal's contempt for the object of his ven- 
geance. 

" But in his delicate form — a dream of Love, 
Shaped by some solitary nymph, whose breast 
Long'd for a deathless lover from above. 
And madden'd in that vision — are express'd 
All that ideal beauty ever bless'd 
The mind with, in its most unearthly mood. 
When each conception was a heavenly guest — 
A ray of immortality — and stood 

Starlike, around, until they gathefd to a god !" 

But the mere beauty of the execution is not all. Could 
a modern statue be formed, no way its inferior, it would not 
by any means possess the same interest. It is the thought 
that this has united the suffrages of three centuries. The 
intellectual and the cultivated of ten generations have stood 
before its pedestal, and no dissenting voice has been heard 
denying its claim to admiration. Michael Angelo and Ca- 
nova, and Thorwaldson, and sculptors from all lands, have 
studied it, receiving new inspiration as they gazed. Count- 
less writers, too, whose names are familiar in the annals of 
literature, have delighted to pay their tribute to its surpass- 
ing beauty, and thus, as we look upon it, there is added also 
the charm of a thousand associations. 

Here, too, in another Hall by itself, is the group of the 
Laocoon — the father and his two sons in the Serpent's coil 
and strain. We see them struggling with the desperate en- 
ergy of those who strive for life — seeking to unlock the living 
links which are wound around them, " the long envenomed 
chain" — yet striving in vain. The serpent tightens and deep- 
ens its coils, and rivets them more firmly, while each moment 
it is driving its fangs deeper into the old man's side. And yet 
with this group we were disappointed, The single figure of 
the father, so expressive of mortal agony, if it could be seen 



96 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

by itself, would be all that we could desire. The sons how- 
ever are not youths. There is nothing juvenile about their 
forms or features. They are merely miniatures of the father. 
Parts too are restorations, and evidently not in accordance 
with the original outline of the group, injuring the effect of 
its intense action. 

As we traverse these Halls we cannot but realize the su- 
periority of sculpture to painting. Zeuxis and Apelles were 
in their day what Raphael and Guido are in ours, but there 
remains not a single work which they executed ; and yet, here 
are the beautiful creations of Grecian Sculpture, as fresh as 
they were twenty centuries ago. The marble has faithfully 
retained its trust, and we gaze upon it now as when it came 
from the artist's hands. 

But Rome is still a sepulchre of beauty, and it is impos- 
sible to tell what treasures may yet be hid beneath its ruins. 
Pliny informs us, that the number of statues was equal to that 
of the inhabitants, and many are now doubtless covered by 
the heaps of rubbish which have fallen above them. The 
elevation of the ground throughout the city is from fifteen to 
twenty feet above its original level, and no excavation ever 
is made without disinterring some remains of antiquity. 
Several of the ancient Baths are still unopened, and could 
the Tiber be for a time diverted from its course, there is no 
doubt but that in its bed would be found many treasures of 
art which were buried beneath its waters, when the city was 
so often plundered by barbarous enemies. The offer to 
undertake this work has several times been made to the Pa- 
pal government, but was always declined. Raphael proposed 
in his day a plan for a thorough exploration, but the author- 
ities had not energy enough to adopt it. Had Napoleon con- 
quered in Russia, he intended to have made a triumphal 
entry into Rome for the purpose of being crowned in St. 
Peter's, and then the scheme of Raphael would have been 
put in execution. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 97 

There are but fifty pictures in the Vatican, but one of 
them is a painting allowed to be the first in the world — the 
Transfiguration by Raphael. I know not why it was, 
but my first impressions were those of disappointment ; per- 
haps because my expectations had been raised too high. The 
colors too are said to have somewhat changed since it came 
from the hand of its great master. After seeing in France 
and Italy the chef d'ouvres of the first artists of different ages, 
and realizing that Raphael was the noblest of them all, I 
expected perhaps, when I looked upon his master-piece, to 
see more than human genius can ever execute. But every 
moment since, it has grown upon me, until I felt ready to 
subscribe to the decision which pronounced it the greatest tri- 
umph the pencil ever has achieved. No words can describe 
the aerial lightness with which the figures of the Saviour and 
the tw-o prophets seem suspended in the air. They appear 
floating on the clouds, while around them is spread an efful- 
gence of glory, which nowhere else have colors been able 
to produce. The Apostles are on the ground below, veiling 
their faces, as if smitten down, and " dazzled with excess of 
brightness." But it was on the head of the Saviour that Ra- 
phael lavished all his power, attempting to invest him with 
a majesty and beauty — to array him with an air of Divinity 
— which would make this the very perfection of art. There 
is but one that can compare with it, and that the countenance 
of our Lord ia Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper at Milan. 
There indeed the artist left the head imperfect, because he 
could not realize his conception of the celestial beauty it 
ought to possess. Yet unfinished as it is, it expresses all we 
can imagine 

We have already in this chapter spoken of the character- 
istics of Michael Angelo, Raphael we regard as his perfect 
contrast. It has been well remarked, that the former seemed 
to have imbibed the spirit of the Old Testament, and the 
latter that of the New. Every thing recorded of Raphael 



98 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

appears to develop a loveliness of disposition most foreign to 
the stern character of his great rival. Idolized by his friends, 
he seemed formed for the fullest display of every social affec- 
tion. Beauty was the element and atmosphere in v/hich he 
lived, and his most pleasant occupation was to transfer the 
loveliness of woman to his almost breathing canvass. There 
it still awakens our admiration as no other productions of the 
pencil can, for the centuries which have passed sent forth no 
rival to eclipse his fame. And when he portrayed subjects 
of a sacred character, his work appeals at once to our affec- 
tions. With the spirit of St. John he painted the Saviour of 
the world, and we recognize in the portrait which he has 
drawn. One who can be " touched with the feeling of our 
infirmities." His pictures therefore teach the lessons of our 
faith. 

The Transfiguration was Raphael's last work, and before 
it was completed, he was cut off at the early age of thirty- 
seven. But seldom for centuries past — if we may credit the 
account of those who saw it — had Rome witnessed a scene 
like that which took place on the sweet April day, when 
this divinest painter of the age was borne to his rest in the 
Pantheon. Yet before that solemn march began — that march 
which knows no return — his body was laid in state, with 
this his master-piece suspended over it, the last traces of his 
hand still visible on the canvass. 

" And when all beheld 



Him where he lay, how changed from yesterday — 

Him in that hour cut off, and at his head 

His last great work ; when, entering in, they looked 

Now on the dead, then on that master-piece — 

Now on his face, lifeless and colorless. 

Then on those forms divine that lived and breathed. 

And would hve on for ages — all were moved. 

And sighs burst forth, and loudest lamentations." 



PRESENTATION AT THE PAPAL COURT.— THE 
POPEDOM.— PRIVATE LIFE OF THE POPES. 



CHAPTER VII. 

To-day we were presented to his Holiness Pope Gregory 
XVI. by our Consul, through whom, as we have no minister 
at the Papal Court, all the necessary arrangements are made. 
So many holydays and other public festivals are continually 
occurring, that it is necessary to make application some time 
before, and we had been for several weeks waiting his Holi- 
ness' leisure. The required costume is the same as on other 
occasions — the ladies in black, with black veils over their 
heads, the gentlemen also in full dress of black. The only 
difference is, that boots are forbidden — a very disagreeable 
arrangement, as passing in thin shoes and silk stockings 
through the cold galleries of the Vatican, and over the mar- 
ble floors, an invalid would be very apt to take a cold, for 
which his introduction to the successor of St. Peter would 
hardly be considered a sufficient compensation. 

Twenty-two hours of the day,* that is, three o'clock in 
the afternoon, was the time appointed, and punctual to the 
hour, we assembled in a little room adjoining the Sistine 
Chapel, where we remained till our company had all arrived. 
Here hats and cloaks were deposited, and the Consul drilled 

* The Romaa day counts its hours from 1 to 24, beginning at sun- 
down. As this is rather indefinite for a starting point, and from its 
daily change would be very inconvenient, the Cardinal who presides over 
this department, issues a -public ordinance, decreeing at what hour the 
sun ought to set. At this season of the year he places it at 5 P. M. 
Three o'clock in the afternoon, therefore, is twenty-two hours of the day. 



102 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

US with a few instructions, as to how we were to bow when 
we walked in, and how we were to bow when we backed 
out, and other matters of equal moment in the etiquette of 
the Papal Court. Presently a servant in livery appeared, 
to conduct us to the anteroom — the procession formed, and 
marshalled by him we were led up stairs, and on — on 
through the long halls and corridors, till we reached the 
Hall of Maps, so called because its walls are covered with 
huge maps, painted in fresco in 1581 by an archbishop of 
Alatri, and which are now curious, as showing the geogra- 
phical knowledge of that day. 

Here we were left for nearly an hour. These vast gal- 
lerfes are always cold, even in the mildest weather, and as 
this happened to be one of the most severe days we had 
experienced while in Italy, and we were not exactly in cos- 
tume for such an atmosphere, we were any thing but com- 
fortable. A large brazier filled with coals, (the usual 
method here of warming an apartment,) stood at one end, 
round which the ladies gathered — the gentlemen walked 
about to keep themselves warm — while some of the younger 
members of the party, having no fear of the Pope and the 
Vatican before their eyes, to keep their blood from congeal- 
ing, most irreverently ran races up and down the gallery. 
This, by the way, being four hundred and twenty feet long, 
seemed admirably adapted for such purposes. 

At length the usher in attendance walked in and an- 
nounced that 11 Padre Santo was ready to receive us. The 
presentation was very different from what I had expected, 
having lately read an account of one in which there was 
much ceremony — the guards at the doors — the anteroom 
filled with officers of the Court — and the mace-bearers her- 
alding the way. Every thing with us was very informal, 
and with the exception of the usher and two servants at the 
door, we saw no attendants. In we marched in procession, 
headed by the Consul in full uniform ; the ladies next, the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 103 

gentlemen bringing up the rear, and found ourselves in 
a long room, at the upper end of which, leaning against a 
table, stood the two hundred and fifty-eighlh successor of St. 
Peter. We bowed as we entered the door — again when we 
reached the middle of the room — and a third time when we 
came opposite to the Pope. This at least is all that is 
required of those who " worship God after the way which 
they call heresy." The true members of the Church of 
Rome, instead of bowing, kneel three times, and end by kiss- 
ing either the hand or the embroidered slipper of his Holi- 
ness. It is said, that when Horace Walpole was presented 
to Benedict XIV. he stood for a moment in a posture of hesi- 
tation, when the Pope, who was remarkable for cheerfulness 
and humor, exclaimed, " Kneel down, my son, receive the 
blessing of an old man ; it will do you no harm !" upon 
which the young traveller immediately fell on his knees. 
Kissing the Pope's foot is not so easily justified, although the 
usual explanation given is, that it is to the cross on the slip- 
per that the homage is paid. But what business has the 
cross in such a situation ? It is curious too that a somewhat 
similar reason was given for this ceremony under the old 
Roman Emperors. Caligula was the first who offered his 
foot to be kissed by those who approached him, and we find 
Seneca declaiming upon it as the last affront to liberty, and 
the introduction of a Persian slavery into the manners of 
Rome. Those on the contrary who endeavored to excuse it, 
asserted that it was not done out of insolence, but vanity, 
that he might, by this means, display his golden slipper set 
with jewels. 

After we were presented and had ranged ourselves in a 
semicircle around him, he commenced at once an animated 
conversation with the Consul, which gave us an opportunity 
of quietly studying his appearance and manner. He was 
dressed in his every day-costume — a v/hite flannel robe, with 
a cape buttoned down before, and very similar to that worn 



104 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

by some Orders of the monks — a little white skull-cap on his 
head — and red morocco slippers, on the instep of each of 
which was wrought the gold cross. His snuff-box (another 
cross on its lid) was in constant use, while he laughed and 
talked in the most sociable manner. Notwithstanding his 
age — being over eighty — he seems a hale, hearty old man, 
whom I should not have imagined to be more than sixty. 
He looked very differently from what he did in the public 
services of St. Peter's, when I supposed him to be feeble, and 
it is probable that the Cardinals whose heads are aching for 
the Tiara, will have to wait some years before the aspirations 
of any one of them is gratified. There is, however, nothing 
intellectual in his countenance — nothing which marks him 
as one worthy in this respect to sit in the seat of Hildebrand. 
His features are exceedingly heavy — the nose too large and 
drooping — and the general expression of the eyes one of 
sleepiness. The impression produced upon my mind was 
that of good nature. During the whole audience there was 
nothing to remind me that he was t?ie head of so large a 
portion of the Christian world — still less, that he was a tem- 
poral prince to whom many millions owed subjection. 

After inquiring what parts of the country we came from, 
and whether all things had become quiet in Philadelphia, 
(alluding to the riots of the last summer,) he suddenly turned 
to us, and asked — " What do you intend to do with Texas ?" 
It was certainly a curious place in which to hear a discus- 
sion of this question, but the Pope seemed to feel as much 
interest in the matter as if he had been one of our own South- 
ern politicians. His knowledge of the geography of our 
country rather surprised me at the time, but I afterwards 
learned that he had formerly been for many years Preefect of 
the Propaganda, during which time the whole foreign corres- 
pondence was submitted to him, and he is therefore some- 
what acquainted with those parts of the United States in 
which there are Roman Catholic Missionaries. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 105 

After about twenty minutes there was a pause in the con- 
versation, when he bowed to us — rang a small bell on the table, 
I suppose to summon the usher — and we commenced, according 
to etiquette, backing out of the room. The Pope, however, im- 
mediately walked into the recess of a window near him — 
his usual custom, I am told, to relieve strangers from the 
awkwardness of so singular a mode of exit — and we were 
thus enabled to turn our backs to him and leave the apart- 
ment in the ordinary way. 

At the close of a presentation it is customary for the 
Pope to bless the rosaries, crucifixes, medals, &c., which 
have been brought for that purpose. An attendant therefore 
was at hand to receive them, and some of the party having 
come well provided, the articles were carried in to his Holi- 
ness, and in a short time brought out again with the additional 
value they had received from their consecration. 

Nothing can be so joyless as the life of the Sovereign Pon- 
tiff. Weighed down as he is by cares and business with no 
means of recreation, the quiet and seclusion of the cloister 
would be a happy exchange. They who only think of him 
as a temper. 1 monarch, or witness his splendor amidst the 
ceremonies of the Church, know little of the dull uniform- 
ity in which his days are passed. Four centuries ago, the 
Popes, in consideration of their temporal sovereignty, dis- 
played in their palaces the same magnificence and festivity 
which were witnessed at other courts. The old chronicles 
describe to us fetes and pageants and tournaments, which 
certainly displayed more of the spirit of this world than of the 
next. But now a character of austerity seems outwardly at 
least to mark the Pontifical Court. The vast and gloomy 
apartments of the Vatican are deserted, and as you pass 
through them you meet no one but the ofiicials of the Palace, 
or some ecclesiastic gliding along with a subdued look and 
noiseless step. You might imagine yourself in a monastery 
of Carthusians. The Pope indeed is at all times the slave 



106 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

of the most rigid etiquette. The heavy robes of his office 
trammel his steps and he leads a life of restraint and con- 
finement. A walk in the formal gardens of the Vatican or 
Quirinal — a quiet ride among the mournful ruins of former 
ages — or a visit to some church filled perhaps with monu- 
ments which announce how short were the reigns of his 
predecessors — are his only sources of relaxation without the 
walls of his own palace.* 

In the days of Leo X. the hours which were spent around 
the table of the Pontiff were devoted to the highest social en- 
joyment. While literature was reviving, it was there that 
its progress was discussed, and plans were canvassed and 
hints given, which constantly suggested to this Sovereign of 
the House of Medici, new schemes for restoring its former 
glory. Philosophers, orators, and artists, gathered there — 
genius wa,s encouraged to attempt its loftiest flight, — and the 
poet sang his noblest verses to the music of the sweet lyre, 
certain of a favorable audience. The deep mysteries of sci- 
ence, and the lighter graces of literature found equal fa-vor 
with the princely Leo, and in his presence the subtle alchy- 
mist from the far East and the gay troubabour of Provence, 
were seen side by side. There seemed then to be an inspira- 
tion in those saloons, and from the Halls of the Vatican the 
new Augustan age first dawned upon the world. So it kad 
been before at Avignon, and as we explored the ruined pal- 
ace of the Popes, we thought more of Petrarch who came 
thither from Vaucluse to recite his sweet sonnets, than we 
did of the Pontiff and Cardinals whose applause he sought to 
win. But now this too is changed, and custom requires that 
the table of the Pope should be occupied by himself alone. 
His repasts are solitary, unenlivened even by friendly con- 
verse. In many respects indeed this change is a favorable 
one, and the austerity of the present day far better becomes 

* Eustace Class. Tour, vol. iii. p. 346. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 107 

the head of the Roman Church than the gay pageantry of 
the former centuries, yet it necessarily makes his life solitary 
and cheerless. 

Elected as the Popes are at an advanced age, they must of 
course follow each other in rapid succession. Gregory XVI. 
therefore, having been elected in 1831 has had a longer reign 
than usual. He is not a man of great talents or remarkable 
for any particular traits which pointed him out for the office, 
but was elected, as is frequently the case, amidst the strife of 
parties. On such occasions, some inoffensive, unexception- 
able person, generally of advanced age, is chosen. He seems 
to share fully in all the antiquated prejudices of his Church 
and has lately issued an edict forbidding all railroads within 
the Papal dominions. It was proposed to construct one from 
Rome to Naples, and the King of Naples was very anxious 
to have it undertaken. In fact, during the winter he arrived 
at Rome and it was stated that this was the object of his visit ; 
but the Pope was inexorable. The Court fears its subjects 
having too great facilities for travelling, lest a further ac- 
quaintance with the world might shake their faith. And 
yet Rome is supported almost entirely by the money of for- 
eigners, and should all visitors abandon it for three years, the 
city would be given up to famine. 

What a strange spectacle does this history of the Pope- 
dom present ! Aged men, reigning but a short time — insu- 
lated individuals, deriving no claim from relationship to those 
who went before them, and yet, amidst all the changes of the 
world, bequeathing their authority to those who came after 
them. The unbroken line stretches back from him whom 
we saw to-day in the Vatican, to those Bishops " appointed 
unto death" who ruled the Christians of the Imperial City 
when they met in the catacombs of St. Sebastian, or died as 
martyrs in the Flavian amphitheatre. Perhaps seventeen 
centuries ago some of the predecessors of Gregory XVI., as 
they saw in the distance the smoke of heathen sacrifice as- 



108 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

cend from the temple of the Capitoline Jupiter, were uncon- 
sciously standing on the very spot where their own magnifi- 
cent St. Peter's was afterwards to be founded. Yet great as 
is the change in their situation, is it not equally so in the 
manner in which they bear the Apostolic ofRce ? Would 
Clemens, " whose name" — St. Paul tells us — " was written 
in the Book of Life," have recognized as his successors, the 
lordly prelates of the Middle Ages — trampling on the necks 
of Kings, and crushing thrones with a rod of iron ? Alas ! 
before the days of Christian unity return, Rome must go back 
to earlier principles, remembering the heritage of suffering 
which once she received, and by which she grew to greatness. 
Laying aside her diadem and resuming once more her ancient 
crown of thorns, the world must see her, sitting no longer 
so lordly, but rather ready to rejoice if again she should be 
counted worthy to suffer. Then, when purified by trial, she 
goes forth to her holy work, poor Humanity will greet her 
with joy, as she comes preaching the Gospel of peace. Yea, 
the Churches of the world will make answer to her call, as 
they welcome her to their fellowship, feeling that again, after 
long centuries of warfare, with one mouth and one heart they 
can all profess the " faith which was once delivered unto the 
saints." 



A DAY'S RAMBLE IN ROME. 



6 



CHAPTER VIII. 

We have been out to-day, rambling about from one scene 
of interest to another, with no fixed plan, but wandering in 
accordance with the suggestion of the moment. There is one 
advantage in Rome, which is, that from our childhood we 
have been familiar with pictures and models of its antiquities, 
so that we recognize them at once. A guide book is scarcely 
necessary. We are already acquainted with the story of 
each old ruin, and want nothing but a map to conduct us to 
the spot. 

We first sought for the Pantheon, through the narrow, 
dirty streets which have been built up around it. So 
crowded indeed are the modern habitations, that it is impos- 
sible to find a spot from which this unrivalled edifice can be 
properly viewed. Eighteen centuries ago it was looked 
upon as faultless, and criticism since has been unable to urge 
an objection. In the reign of Augustus there were gathered 
within its walls statues of the gods, in gold, silver, bronze, 
and precious marbles. Since then it has been plundered of 
all that could be carried off* — the statues that graced its cor- 
nice — ^the bronze which adorned its dome — and the silver 
that lined the compartments of its roof within — yet its 
faultless proportions remain, the wonder of every age. The 
original inscription on the front still records that it was 
erected by Agrippa, and when we enter, we stand on the 
same marble pavement once trodden by Augustus. Its ro- 
tunda was so well adapted to the change, that with scarcely 



112 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

an alteration it passed from heathen worship to be used as a 
Christian church. Not only was Michael Angelo proud to 
copy it in the dome of St. Peter's, but even Constantinople is 
indebted to it for the plan of St. Sophia. Its spoils too are 
dispersed about the city. Its bronze forms the Balacchino, 
or grand canopy over the altar in St. Peter's — the basaltic 
lions which guarded the entrance now adorn the Acqua Felice 
fountain of Sextus V. — and the beautiful porphyry sarco- 
phagus which once stood in the portico, has been removed 
by the Corsini to their chapel in St. John Lateran, and 
instead of the ashes of Agrippa, now holds that of Cle- 
ment XII. 

Above is a circular opening, through which alone the 
light is admitted, and the interior therefore reflects every 
change in the atmosphere. The flush of morn — the golden 
radiance of noon — the purple hue which fills the air as the 
sun is going down — the gray twilight — and the passing shad- 
ow of the darkening tempest — all are repeated and mirrored on 
the antique marbles within. At night too it is strange to 
stand in this solemn temple, and see the stars shining brightly 
in the deep azure above, and the moon flooding the whole 
firmament with her glory, or seeming to chase the clouds 
which are rapidly flying past. And although the rain pours 
in year after year, and the Tiber at times in its overflow- 
reaches the pavement, yet this beautiful relic of antiquity 
seems to defy alike the elements and the inroads of time. 
We see it indeed in its " disastrous twilight," for the ages 
which have gone have dimmed its brightness, yet it may 
well be questioned, whether the deep and mellow tints it has 
received from passing centuries do not impart a majesty it 
did not possess in the time of its early glory. It has too in 
our day a nobler consecration than when it was devoted to 
the gods of the old mythology. The niches which once their 
statues filled, are now occupied by the busts of those who 
were distinguished for genius or talent. " The dearest hope" 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 113 

— says Corinne — " that the lovers of glory cherish, is that 
of obtaining a place here." Yet the visitor will pass the 
tombs of Winkelman, Metastasio, Poussin, and Annabal 
Carracci, to pause before a plain inscription on the wall, 
which tells us that Raphael is buried below. What a fit 
sepulchre for him, the divinest painter of his age, who died — 
not in the fulness of his years, but in the fulness of his pow- 
ers — ^just living long enough to show the world how much it 
had lost! 

But of such a building all descriptions are useless. The 
words of poetry seem more appropriate, and Childe Harold 
has summed up every thing in a couple of stanzas — 

" Simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime — 
Shrine of all saints and temple of all gods, 
From Jove to Jesus — spared and blest by time ; 
Looking tranquillity, while falls or nods 
Arch, empire, each thing round thee, and man plods 
His way through thorns to ashes — glorious dome ! 
Shalt thou not last ? Time's scythe and tyrant's rods 
Shiver upon thee — sanctuary and home 

Of art and piety — Pantheon! — pride of Rome! 

Relic of nobler days, and noblest arts ! 
Despoil'd yet perfect, with thy circle spreads 
A holiness appealing to all hearts — 
To art a model ; and. to him who treads 
Rome for the sake of ages, glory sheds 
Her light through thy sole aperture ; to those 
Who worship, here are altars for their beads ; 
And they who feel for genius may repose 
Their eyes on honor'd forms, whose busts around them close." 

We turned from it, looking back often to its Corinthian 
columns, and entering once more the labyrinth of narrow 
alleys, sought for the ruins of Pompey's theatre. But a 
few massive fragments and arches now remain, and the cir- 
cular shape of the building is principally traced by the man- 



114 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ner in which we find the houses standing, as they were 
erected upon its foundations. Having been seized by the 
Orsini during the troubles of the twelfth century, while their 
strong hold, it was entirely levelled by feudal violence. 
Yet in its magnificent portico which once contained an hun- 
dred columns, Appian tells us, Brutus sat in judgment on the 
morning of CsBsar's death, and close by was the Senate House, 
in which 

" Even at the base of Pompey's statue 
Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell." 

From this spot, so rich in historical recollections, we 
wound our way through the narrow and dirty Ghetto, which 
is allotted to the Jews. "Sufferance is the badge of all 
their tribe," and here the despised and oppressed Israelites 
must indeed realize it. In the midst of filth and noisome 
smells they are crowded together, restricted to this section 
of the city, .while soldiers mount guard at the gates, which 
are every night closed and kept locked till morning. Even 
during a great inundation of the Tiber, when all this quar- 
ter of the city was under water, their petition for a change of 
residence was denied. As there happened to be no danger 
of their drowning, they were not permitted to escape until 
the regular time of opening the gates in the morning, nor 
at night were they allowed to seek refuge in any other place. 
Some of them are wealthy, but the meanest beggar who 
sleeps in the sun on the Scala di Spagna, if he pretend to 
be a Christian, thinks himself at liberty to spurn them from 
his path, nor does the smitten Jew dare even to remonstrate. 
With the Carnival comes their more public degradation. 
When the bell sounds to announce the beginning of the Fes- 
tival, a deputation of their oldest members ascend to the 
Capitol, and there kneeling bareheaded before the Senator, 
ask permission for their people to reside for the ensuing year 
in Rome, This is granted them, on condition that they pay 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 115 

the expenses of the Carnival, and furnish the prizes, which 
• are generally pieces of gay velvet. Even this is an im- 
provement on their former state, for in old times they were 
obliged at this season themselves to run in races through the 
Corso, while the people shouted in derision as " the Jew 
dogs" exerted themselves for their amusement. Now they 
perform this by proxy, and hire the horses which exhibit. 
They are compelled also once in the year to be present in 
one of the Churches at a service which is intended for their 
express conversion. Where it is held we did not learn, 
though just without the gates of the Ghetto is a Church, 
having on its portal in Hebrew an inscription from Isaiah Ixv. 
2, " I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebel- 
lious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, 
after their own thoughts." The situation of this Church 
would be convenient for the purpose, though the inscription 
is by no means complimentary or inviting. The Saturday 
before Easter is appointed for the baptism of the new con- 
verts, who have the honor of receiving that rite at St. John 
Lateran, in the porphyry vase which is said to have been used 
for the Emperor Constantino in the same service. Subjects 
are always found, although the unbelievers in Rome whisper, 
that one proselyte has appeared so often on this occasion, that 
he is now regarded as a regular part of the pageant. 

We went through their quarter, where the lofty houses 
seemed bending over to meet each other from opposite sides 
of the narrow street. The shops were filled with the usual 
miscellaneous assortment of goods characteristic of the chil- 
dren of Israel — rags, old clothes, scraps of iron, worn-out 
umbrellas, and household utensils of all kinds. Every part 
was swarming like a perfect hive, men and women looking 
out of the windows, and children of all ages sprawling about 
the doors. Their countenances would any where have pro- 
claimed their descent, as they screamed and gibbered to us, 
offering their petty wares for sale, and with the most forcible 



116 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

gesticulations inviting us to enter their shops. But with 
them how strangely different do the two extremes of life 
appear ! The black-haired, black-eyed children grow up 
into beautiful maidens, and then change again to be perfectly 
hag-like in age ; as if Nature was thus revenging herself for 
the prodigality with which her early favors were lavished. 

As we left the Ghetto, we passed the ruins of the theatre 
of Marcellus, its Doric columns still standing, embedded, as 
it were, in the neighboring houses, when suddenly we found 
ourselves in front of the old Palace of the Orsini. We knew 
it at once by the gigantic bear — the crest of the family — 
sculptured in stone on each side of the portal, and it reminded 
us of their old war-cry, " Beware the bear's hug !" which 
for ages sounded so often through the streets of Rome, as 
they met in conflict the adherents of the rival house of Co- 
lonna. Their old baronial castle of Bracciano, twenty-five 
miles from Rome, is the finest of the kind in Italy. Vast in 
extent, lighted by Gothic windows, still containing the family 
portraits, the silk hangings, the antiquated furniture, and the 
armorial bearings of the Orsini, it is a complete picture of 
a feudal residence in the fifteenth century. It was the first 
place in the vicinity of Rome which Sir Walter Scott ex- 
pressed any anxiety to visit, and he spent a day there listen- 
ing with interest to the history of the turbulent lords of this' 
ancient fortress. In the beginning of this century it was sold 
to Torlonia, the Pope's banker, who commenced life as a 
peddler, and whose son now holds it, deriving from the estate 
the old feudal title once borne by the Orsini — Duke of Brac- 
ciano. 

We were looking, however, for the Temple of Vesta, and 
found its situation to agree with the description of Horace in 
the Ninth Satire, where he represents it as lying in his way 
from the Via Sacra to the Gardens of Csesar trans Tiherim. 
But when we reached it on the banks of the river, it needed 
no guide to inform us that this was the object of our search. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 117 

There it was, so small and light and beautiful, that it seemed 
as if it might have been borne through the air by angels, as 
the legend tells us was done with our Lady's Holy Chapel at 
Loretto. The wonder is, that it could have remained for so 
many ages, when massive buildings around were swept away. 
Yet of its twenty Corinthian columns only one is gone, and 
the little circular temple, with the pillars round it, is as 
graceful and elegant as when first erected. It was indeed 
worthy of its purpose ; for among all the rites of ancient 
heathenism, there were none so pure and poetical as these. 
Here watched the consecrated Virgins, whose care was only 
to tend the Sacred Fire. Noble by birth, the true fulfilment 
of their vow entitled them to loftier honors than mere nobility 
could claim ; while, if they erred, theirs was a fearful death 
by which they paid the penalty of sin. There is more ro- 
mance still lingering about this little temple, than all the 
other antiquities of Rome. 

Near the temple of Vesta is that of Fortuna Virilis, whose 
Ionic columns, half buried in the earth, still show what it 
must have been in the beauty of its early day. While we 
were looking at it, one of the crowd of ragged young guides, 
who had been running round us with the most profuse offers 
of their services, pointed out a house in the neighborhood as 
that of Rienzi. The name attracted our attention, and upon 
examining the building, we found that it was the one which 
tradition has always marked out as the residence of " the last 
of the Tribunes "* — he of whom Lord Byron speaks, as "the 
hope of Italy — redeemer of dark centuries of shame.'' The 
edifice is a strange mixture of all kinds of architecture. A 

* " The first stars of night shone down on the ancient Temple of For- 
luna Virilis, which the chances of time had already converted into the 
Church of St. Mary of Egypt ; and facing the twice hallowed edifice 
stood the house of Rienzi. ' It is a fair omen to have my mansion 
facing the ancient temple of Fortune/ said Rienzi smiling." — Bulwer's 
Rienzi. 

6* 



118 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

long inscription is deciphered by antiquarians as setting forth 
the pompous titles of Rienzi, while another on the architrave 
of one of the windows is ascribed to Petrarch. He was in 
Rome during the Jubilee, and may at that time have caused 
it to be affixed. We know that his admiration of Rienzi 
was great, and he was the "Spirto Gentile" of his beautiful 
Canzone, " Italia mia." The friendship, however, of the 
poet for the Tribune, was the source of many trials to the 
former. In his distant retreat at Vaucluse, he heard of the 
revolution which had been effected at Rome, and animated 
by his love of freedom, addressed to the bold reformer an 
Epistle, in which he exhorts him to complete the good work 
faithfully, remembering that the world and posterity were 
his judges. But, unfortunately, the old Cardinal Colonna 
was Petrarch's great patron, and when in the struggle which 
ensued at Rome, between the Barons and the new power, six 
of the Colonnas perished, the poet seems scarcely to have- 
known with which party to side. At length he wrote a tardy 
letter of consolation to the Cardinal, in which we can see 
most clearly the struggle in his mind between his gratitude 
to the family, and his sense of higher obligations to Italy. 

In full view of this building stands the massive Arch of 
Janus Quadrifons, which in the Middle Ages underwent the 
usual fate of these monuments, and was transformed into a 
fortress by the Frangipani family. The remains of the bat- 
tlements of brick work which they erected on its top, are 
still visible. It is indeed strange, when we remember the 
use to which these buildings were then put by the great Ro- 
man families, that so many of them have survived to our 
day. Besides this Arch, the Frangipani seized on the Co- 
liseum — the Orsini, on the Tomb of Hadrian and the Theatre 
of Pompey — the Colonna family on the Mausoleum of Augus- 
tus and the Baths of Constantine — the tomb of Coecilia Metella 
was converted into a fortress by the Savelli and the Gsetani 
— ^the ruins of the Capitol were held by the Corsi — the Quiri- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLY-DAYS IN ROME. 119 

nal by the Conti — and the Pantheon by the garrison of the 
Popes. 

Nor is much greater respect for antiquities shown in the 
present day. The magnificent remains of the Temple of 
Antoninus Pius, are now converted into the Dogana, or Cus- 
tom House, while its portico — one of the noblest of ancient 
Rome — is walled up to form magazines. The Mausoleum 
of Augustus is degraded into a wretched Circus, where the 
spectators sit round on wooden seats as in an amphitheatre, 
while beneath them are the vaults in which once rested the 
remains of Augustus, and Livia, and Tiberius. In the wall 
is inserted a slab of marble, which their grateful fellow citi- 
zens have placed in honor of divers actors and equestrians, 
who there covered themselves with immortal glory in the 
presence of admiring thousands ! And yet, this is the tomb 
hallowed by the touching lines of Virgil, which he wrote 
when the young Marcellus became its first occupant ! But 
a still more curious scene may be witnessed by one who will 
take the trouble to wind his way through the narrow streets 
and alleys which lead to the fish-market. There, almost 
every stall has for its counter a slab of marble taken from 
some antique monument or temple, and sprats and gudgeons 
are flouncing about upon old Latin inscriptions, which else- 
where would be a treasure to the antiquary. Here, how- 
ever, their very abundance deprives them of interest. About 
the market-place too are ancient columns, the inscriptions on 
which show, that they were of the age of Antoninus. 

Every place indeed teems with the relics of old Rome's 
magnificence. Pillars and cornices, richly sculptured, are 
seen masoned into the walls of the most common houses. 
Granite and porphyry pillars are so plentiful, that they cease 
to have any value. In the Churches are ornaments torn 
from Pagan temples, which there produce often a most incon^ 
gruous effect. That of St. John Lateran is filled with mar- 
ble columns from the tomb of Hadrian and the Capitol, on 



120 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

which the old emblems still remain. Some have carved 
upon them the geese which preserved the city, others Gothic 
and Arabic ornaments. In St. Agnes, bas-reliefs, turned 
for convenience face downward, are used to form a staircase. 
These are the sights which meet us on every side. 

But to return to our excursion. We were now upon the 
verge of the modern city, and before us was the more open 
country, with the scattered ruins of ancient Rome. We had 
already advanced farther than we first intended, yet induced 
by the beauty of the weather we still went on, one object 
of interest leading us to another. We found ourselves near 
the Cloaca Maxima, those immense sewers said to have been 
built by Tarquinius Prisons, the fifth king of Rome, only one 
hundred and fifty years after the foundation of the city. 
Livy, Strabo, and Dionysius, all describe them as evidences 
of Roman greatness. Pliny, nearly eighteen centuries ago, 
-recorded his admiration, and expressed surprise that they 
had lasted eight hundred years uninjured. Ancient authors 
tell us that a cart loaded with hay could pass under the arch ; 
and when Agrippa cleansed them in the reign of Augustus, 
he went through them in a boat, to which Pliny probably 
alludes in the expressiDn, " urbs subter navigata." 

To my mind, however, the existence of these works is 
one proof that there was a city on this spot long before the 
days of Romulus. I number them with those traces we 
here and there find of earlier ages of a mysterious civiliza- 
tion which in Italy preceded the birth of Rome — a period 
when the massive Etruscan tombs were built, and those tem- 
ples were reared in Psestum, which two thousand years ago 
the Romans were accustomed to visit as antiquities. And 
I am happy to find that such is the view which Ferguson has 
given in his history. " These works " — he says — " are still 
supposed to remain ; but as they exceed the power and re- 
sources of the present city to keep them in repair, they are 
quite concealed, except at one or two places. They were, in 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 121 

the midst of Roman greatness, and still are, reckoned among 
the wonders of the world, and yet they are said to have been 
works of the elder Tarquin, a prince whose territory did not 
extend, in any direction, above sixteen miles ; and on this 
supposition, they must have been made to accommodate a 
city that was calculated chiefly for the reception of cattle, 
herdsmen, and banditti. Rude nations sometimes execute 
works of great magnificence, as fortresses and temples, for the 
purposes of war and superstition ; but seldom palaces, and 
still more seldom works of mere convenience and cleanliness, 
in which, for the most part, they are long defective. It is 
not unreasonable, therefore, to question the authority of tra- 
dition in respect to this singular monument of antiquity, 
which so greatly exceeds what the best accommodated city of 
modern Europe could undertake for its own convenience. 
And as these works are still entire, and may continue so for 
thousands of years, it may be suspected, that they were even 
prior to the settlement of Romulus, and may have been the 
remains of a more ancient city, on the ruins of which the 
followers of Romulus settled, as the Arabs now hut or encamp 
on the ruins of Palmyra and Balbeck. Livy owns that the 
common sewers were not accommodated to the plan of Rome, 
as it was laid out in his time ; they were carried in direc- 
tions across the streets, and passed under buildings of the 
greatest antiquity. This derangement indeed he imputes to 
the hasty rebuilding of the city after its destruction by the 
Gauls ; but haste, it is probable, would have determined the 
people to build on their old foundations, or at least not to 
change them so much as to cross the direction of former 
streets."* 

At this day, these massive works are as entire as when 
the foundations were first laid, and "are a lasting memorial of 
the solidity of Etruscan architecture. The huge blocks, 

* Progress and Termination of the Roman Republic, b. i. ch. i. note. 



122 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROBIE. 

put together without cement, still stand unmoved, and the 
arch way, fourteen feet high by as many broad, expands 
before us as it did to the view of the Romans, twenty-five 
centuries ago. Yet above it is a bright clear spring, the 
Acqua Argentina — or Silver Water — which comes bubbling 
forth and disappears under the old arch, while its beautiful 
stream is the more delightful, because we scarcely expect to 
meet with it in a spot intended for such different purposes. 

We were now near the ruined palace of the Csesars, but 
passed it, winding around the base of the Palatine Mount, 
attracted by the gigantic arches of the Baths of Caracalla, 
which lie still farther beyond. They are situated on the 
Eastern slope of the Aventine, and next to the Coliseum are 
the most massive remains of ancient Rome. More than a 
mile in circuit, they are a perfect labyrinth of magnificent 
ruins. They consisted originally of six enormous halls, 
above two hundred feet in height, the crumbling walls of 
which alone remain, while the deep blue sky above is their 
sole canopy. The interior stretches out like vast lawns, on 
which some elms have grown up, spreading their branches 
till they touch the ruined walls. In one of the ancient but- 
tresses still remains a winding staircase by which you can 
ascend to the top of these lofty arches, and there pass around 
among the broken masses which rise like mountains, some- 
times treading on the very verge of a deep chasm, and then 
climbing some crag whose rough masonry is entirely over- 
grown with foliage and vegetation. Yet in all this there 
seems to be no air of desolation. Every thing is softened 
down and veiled by the luxuriance of nature. Wherever 
the stones are reft asunder, a perfect wilderness of flowering 
shrubs has filled up the chasm, covering the roughness of 
the shattered sides. The myrtle, the bay, and the white 
blossoms of the laurustinus, are entwined with the profusion 
of creeping vines which are produced in this luxuriant soil. 

We sat down on a block of marble, and thought of the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 123 

past. What a scene of splendor was this in its early day — 
in those years when the Romans, enervated by luxury, 
sought out daily new pleasures, and were fast preparing for 
their " decline and fall !" And yet to-day we were treading 
on the mouldering ruins of all this old magnificence, and 
except the custode appearing occasionally through some 
shattered arch, not a living creature was seen to break in 
upon the solitude. Lofty arches, with ivy clinging to them 
in every direction, and hanging in deep festoons — wide sa- 
loons where formerly the gay thousands of Roman citizens 
gathered — mosaic pavements, as bright and beautiful as they 
were seventeen centuries ago, and representing still the 
athletce, of that day — fragments of ancient sculpture — these 
were around us, covering the hill in strange confusion. 

Among these ruins, too, Shelley was accustomed to linger, 
and here were shaped into being those noble creations which 
he has given us in his "Prometheus Unbound. '' In the 
preface he says — "This poem was chiefly written upon the 
mountainous ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, among the 
flowery glades and thickets of odoriferous blossoming trees 
which are extended in ever-winding labyrinths upon its im- 
mense platforms, and dizzy arches suspended in the air. 
The bright blue sky of Rome, and the effect of the vigorous 
awakening Spring in that divinest climate, and the new life 
with which it drenches the spirits, even to intoxication, were 
the inspirations of the Drama." 



EPIPHANY SERVICES. — GREEK RITUAL. — THE 
BAMBINO.— VESPERS AT THE PROPAGANDA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Festival of the Epiphany seems to be one much 
honored here, indeed quite as much so as that of the Nativity. 
The Churches are all thronged, and the day is celebrated by 
their most splendid services. The Pope himself performs 
High Mass in the Sistine Chapel, but as we had already wit- 
nessed that service in St. Peter's, we fh*eferred being present 
at one which takes place only on this single day in the course 
of the year. 

Among the dignified ecclesiastics residing in Rome, are 
many foreign Bishops, such as the Greek, Armenian, &c. 
They are to be seen in grand ceremonies, forming a part of 
the processions, and by the variety of their costumes adding 
to the splendor of the pageant. A few days before, in a long 
conversation with an ecclesiastic of the Church of Rome, I 
endeavored to discover the precise position of the Greek 
Bishop, with whom I found he was intimate. He admitted 
that the Bishop had no jurisdiction at the East — no fixed 
Diocese — but said that his duty was to ordain the Greek 
missionaries sent to those parts from Rome. " Is his au- 
thority acknowledged by the Greek Church?" I inquired. 
"Yes," — said he — "by the Catholic portion of that Church, 
but not by the schismatics." I saw of course that he meant by 
" the Catholic portion," the few Romish missionaries scattered 
through the East, and by " the schismatics," the great body 
of that Church; and therefore said — " Then, to put it in plain 
language, he is looked upon by the Greek Church in the East, 



128 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

as Bishop Hughes is regarded by our Church in New York, 
we acknowledging the jurisdiction of another Bishop?" He 
looked at me for a moment with a smile, and then replied — 
" Exactly." 

In truth, these foreign Bishops with dioceses which they 
have never perhaps seen, are merely retained here as parts 
of the pageants of the Church. They appear at the Court 
of Rome as the spiritual heads of millions in the East, who 
entirely disown their authority and have no connection with 
them, but at the same time with the many strangers here 
they strengthen the idea of the perfect Catholicity of this 
Church. They give the appearance of a visible unity 
extending through the world, which in reality has no ex- 
istence. 

In the Via Babuino stands a church, which, daily as I 
passed it, attracted my attention, from the fact that it seemed 
always to be closed. While every other Church in Rome- 
has its doors open for any transient worshipper who may 
wish to offer his devotions, morning, noon-tide, or eve- 
ning, this was the solitary exception. Week days, and 
Festivals, and even Sundays passed, and still it was entirely 
deserted. We now, however, found an explanation of the 
mystery. It is the Church of St. Athanasius, subject to the 
jurisdiction of the Greek Bishop, and as there is no one" to 
attend it, is only open on a single day in the year. This is on 
the Festival of the Epiphany, when High Mass is performed 
according to the Ritual of the Greek Church. We saw it 
announced in the Diario di Rojna, and having determined to 
avail ourselves of what might be the only opportunity which 
Would ever occur of witnessing this service, we repaired at 
an early hour to the Church. It is quite small, without any 
thing in the architecture or paintings to attract attention, and 
from being so little opened, had the damp and chilly feeling 
of a vault. The congregation seemed to be composed almost 
entirely of English, drawn like ourselves by curiosity. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 129 

The Greek Bishop entered with a procession, and the 
choir at once commenced their anthem. He is not more 
than forty-five years of age, with a coal-black beard covering 
his breast, and has one of the most noble voices I have ever 
heard. The costumes were all different from those of the 
Roman Church — the Greek cross instead of the Latin was 
embroidered on every part — the features and long beards of 
the attending priests plainly showed their Eastern origin — 
and every thing united to give the service a peculiarly 
Oriental appearance. The Bishop himself came in clothed 
in purple, and after being escorted to his seat, robes of white 
and gold were brought, and his attendants commenced array- 
ing him in them. This process occupied nearly half an 
hour. Whenever he took part in the service, a priest knelt 
before him with a large open volume, bound in white and 
gold, from which he chanted his part. 

The service was much longer than the Mass of the Ro- 
man Church, but composed of the same kind of ceremonies 
— kneeling — crossing — chanting — the waving of censers — 
and processions of lights. There is, however, an evident 
significancy and meaning in some of the ceremonies, which 
requh'es but little explanation to be understood even by a 
careless spectator. For example, the Bishop frequently held 
up before the people, branches of lights, that in his right 
hand containing three, and that in his left, two. This has 
been adopted to express their faith in the doctrine of the 
Trinity ; heresies on this subject being those by which the 
Greek Church has been most troubled. The three lights 
signify the Three Persons in the Trinity ; and the two lights, 
the Two distinct Natures of our Lord. The High Altar was 
behind a screen, the part immediately in front of it being 
open. At the consecration of the elements, when the Bishop 
was standing before the altar, this was closed by a curtain, 
and for some time his voice only was indistinctly heard, 
while he himself was unseen. This is a custom which has 



130 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

been for ages adopted in the Greek Church. It was at first 
commenced as a measure of precaution, because the rite of 
Baptism had been exposed to public ridicule on the stage, 
and they wished to guard that of the Eucharist from a simi- 
lar profanation. They considered, too, that such mystery 
was conformable to the nature of this solemn Institution, and 
therefore concealed the priest from public view, an'd environ- 
ed him, as the high-priest of old when he entered the Holy 
of Holies, with the awful solitude of the sanctuary.* 

Upon the whole, as a mere matter of taste and splendor, 
I prefer the Greek Ritual to the Latin. It is certainly in 
some parts more imposing than any thing we have seen in 
the Mass of the Roman Church. A living writer — whose 
opinion, however, must be taken with some allowance, on 
account of his overweening admiration of Rome — thus con- 
trasts the two services. " Two observable characteristics of 
the Greek ritual, are its very dramatic nature and its humility. 
Its dramatic, one might almost say over-dramatic, disposition 
may be seen particularly in the ceremonies of the Holy week, 
compared with those at Rome. Its humility, in the forms of 
Baptism, receiving confessions, and absolving penitents. . . 
Without presuming to criticise the Liturgies of the 
two Churches, it may be allowable to note, that while the 
Greek ritual of the Eucharist is more dramatic, so to speak, 
than the Roman, it is scarcely so magnificent in its tone, or 
so rich in mystical expositions, neither does it exhibit that 
quickness at catching expressions of Scripture, and repre- 
senting them in devotional gestures, which is so marvellous 
in the rubrics of the Roman Missal. "f 

The great service of the day however was in the church 
of S. Maria d'Ara Coeli. This is a strange looking building 
on the Capitoline Hill, erected on the foundation of the old 
Roman temple of Jupiter Feretrius, in which the Spolia Opi- 

* Eustace Classical Tour, vol. ii. p. 40. t F. W. Faber. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 131 

ma were deposited. The ascent to it is by one hundred and 
twenty-four steps of Grecian marble taken from an ancient 
temple of Romulus, near the Porta Salaria. They were 
constructed in 1348, the expense being defrayed by the alms 
of the faithful after the great plague which Boccacio has so 
admirably described as afflicting Florence in that year. The 
age of the Church itself is unknown, although all agree in 
ascribing to it an antiquity not lower than the sixth century. 
Upon entering, your first impression is, that it is composed 
of an assemblage of fragments. The materials have indeed 
been plundered indiscriminately from every ancient building 
within reach, and of the twenty-two large columns which sep- 
arate the nave from the side aisles, no two are alike. Some are 
of Egytian granite, and some of marble — some white and some 
black — two are Corinthian pillars elegantly fluted, and the 
rest are plain. The capitals too are all different, and as 
none of the pillars were originally of the same length, it 
was of course necessary to raise them on pedestals of vari- 
ous heights. The grotesque effect produced by this variety 
may be imagined. On one of the pillars is the inscription 
in antique letters — a cubiculo augustorum — which would 
seem to prove, that the Church was built with the spoils of 
the palace of the Csesars. The pavement formed of mosaic 
of the most rare and precious marbles, is uneven with age, 
and the sculptured images of knights and Bishops who sleep 
beneath are rapidly disappearing under the tread of the 
thousands who pass over their resting place. My principal 
interest in this building however arose from its connection 
with Gibbon, whose fascinating narrative must so often recur 
to the mind while dwelling in " the Eternal City." It was 
in this Church — as he himself tells us — " on the 15th of Oc- 
tober, 1764, as he sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, 
while the barefooted friars were singing Vespers, that the 
idea of writing the Decline and Fall of the city first started 
to his mind." 



132 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

To the Romanist, on the contrary, this Church derives its 
veneration from a miraculous wooden figure of the infant 
Saviour, called the Santissimo Bamiino, to which they ascribe 
especial power in curing the sick. The legend is, that a 
Franciscan pilgrim carved it out of an olive tree which grew 
on the Mount of Olives, and while he was sleeping over his 
work, St. Luke appeared and painted the image. It is a 
coarse daub, like divers portraits of our Lord which we have 
seen ascribed to St. Luke, from all of which — if we believed 
in their authenticity — we should draw the inference, that his 
talents as an artist were somewhat below those of a very or- 
dinary sign-painter. The image is placed in a side chapel, 
and dressed most richly, while gems and jewelry sparkle on 
all parts of it. Over the infant is bending the Virgin in an 
elegant modern ball dress — red satin, with cord and tassel 
round her waist — splendid necklace, with a veil gracefully 
falling over her and fastened to the back of her head. Around 
them are pasteboard figures of the shepherds and the wise men, 
the oxen and the ass, while the picture is completed by can- 
vass side-scenes, back-ground, and clouds. The view seems 
to extend far into the distance, and there are the hills and 
palm trees and all the features of an Oriental landscape. — 
Altogether, it is quite pretty, and the deception is as well 
managed as it usually is in the theatre. 

On the Festival of the Epiphany this scene is all repre- 
sented on a stage erected near the altar, and crowds of peas- 
antry from the neighboring country throng the Church. In 
the afternoon the Bambino was brought out in solemn pro- 
cession. First came the Cardinals, who offered gifts — I sup- 
pose, in imitation of the Magi — and then the image was sol- 
emnly carried round the Church amidst kneeling thousands. 
The sick, and the halt, and the blind were there, " that at 
least the shadow of" the wooden image "passing by might 
overshadow some of them." Mothers held up their sick 
children, that they might be restored to health by a sight of 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 133 

the miraculous Bambino. Afterwards the procession moved 
to the front of the Church, where the open square on the 
Capitoline Hill was crowded by thousands. Here once more 
the image was elevated to bless the prostrate multitudes, and 
then for another twelvemonth it was restored to its theatrical 
little Chapel. 

In tlie evening we went to the Chapel of the Propaganda, 
which, by the way, is not open to ladies except on this single 
day. This Institution is celebrated throughout the world as 
the one where missionaries are educated for all heathen lands. 
The Armenian Bishop — a venerable looking^man with a long 
white beard — was present at the service, which was the ordi- 
nary Vespers. The students, about eighty in number, were 
ranged on the two sides of the Chapel, and presented a strange 
mixture of all nations and colors. I counted among them, 
five Chinese and two Africans. Yet here they all sat side by 
side, without any distinction, singing together the praises of 
their common Lord. Surely, it must be acknowledged, that 
in this respect Rome carries out her own Catholic principles 
and declares, not only in words but by her actions, that " God 
hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on 
all the face of the earth." She recognizes no distinctions of 
climate or country in the house of God. We had just before, 
as we entered the door of the Chapel, witnessed a similar evi- 
dence of this Catholic spirit. An old man, black as possible, 
in a clerical dress, was just getting into a carriage. He 
was assisted by two priests, who with many bows and dem- 
onstrations of respect were taking leave of him. I after- 
wards learned, that he was an Abyssinian priest who having 
spent the greater part of his life in missionary labors in his 
own country, had now returned to die at Rome. 

The chanting at the Chapel this evening was without any 
pretensions to the character of fine music, yet there was 
something to me very inspiring in the sound. Perhaps it 
arose in part from the fact, that I knew what they were sing- 

7 



134 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ing — only the pure words of inspiration, which two thousand 
years ago were sung on the mountains and among the val- 
leys of Judea, and had ever since been the sacred Hymns of 
the Christian Church. They were the regular Vesper 
Psalms for the evening, in the rich and picturesque language 
of the Vulgate, where the Orientalism of Scripture is blended 
up with such curious felicity with the idiom of the Latin.* 
The chanting was antiphonal, the forty students ranged on 
one side singing the first verse, and immediately those on the 
other side taking up the strain and singing the second. In 
the middle of the Chapel stood a high lectern, and when each 
Psalm was ended, seven or eight students— among whom 
were two Chinese — left their places and gathered around it, 
to lead the singing of the Gloria Patri, in which the whole 
assembly on both sides joined. The organ was pealing over- 
head as an accompaniment, and when I heard the deep-toned 
sound of so many manly voices chanting the rich Latin words, 
and saw the upturned faces of those who stood about the lec- 
tern, I felt that it was indeed a solemn and impressive service. 
Widely as we might differ on many points, here at least was 
a common ground. The words they sang were the heritage 
of each branch alike of the Christian church, and if uttered 
with a true heart fervently, might well raise them above the 
cares of this lower world, to the same lofty devotion which 
elevated the spirit of the kingly poet, when he indited these 
sublime strains. 

* Milman's History of Christianity, vol. ii. p. 334. 



THE TOMBS OF THE LAST STUARTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

The last of the Stuarts died at Rome, where the palace 
which they occupied in the Piazza de S. S. Aposioli, to this 
day bears the name of the Palazzo del Pretendente. The 
Villa Muti too which the Cardinal York owned, has still 
some relics of the family — a portrait of Charles I. — a bust of 
the Cardinal — a picture of the fete given on his promotion to 
the Sacred College — his favorite walking stick, having on it 
an ivory head of Charles I. — and a bust of the Chevalier de 
St. George. Sir Walter Scott, when in Rome, inspected 
these relics with the liveliest interest. He admired the situa- 
tion of the Villa, commanding a splendid view over the Cam- 
pagna, but at the same time remarked — while deploring the 
fate of his favorite princes — that " this was a poor substitute 
for all the splendid palaces to which they were heirs in 
England and Scotland."* 

Justly as the Stuarts were expelled from England, there 
is still something in the fall of a line which for ages had worn 
crowns and borne sceptres, that cannot but enlist our sym- 
pathy. We felt this when we were travelling in their native 
land — visiting the deserted palaces of Holyrood and Linlith- 
gow, where once they held their court — or seeing the monu- 
ments of the early members of their race. The chivalrous 
traits indeed which marked so many of them, particularly in 
the old wars of Scotland — ^the gallant death of James, when 

* Lockhart's Life, vol. vii. p. 275. 



138 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

he disdained to fly from the lost battle, but fell in his knightly 
harness on Flodden field — the bold attempt of the yomig 
Charles Edward, when he landed at Moidart with only seven 
attendants to recover his ancestr|il throne — the gentle spirit 
and mournful fate of the first Charles — the sufferings of 
Queen Mary — the romantic history of Arabella Stuart — all 
these recollections seemed to crowd upon us, awaken our in- 
terest, and almost redeemed the character of the family. 

It was to the Chateau of St. Germain, near Paris, that 
James II. retired when driven from England, and here he 
held the shadow of a court for twelve years, until his death. 
When in Paris therefore we felt an interest in finding his 
tomb, which after some inquiry we learned was in the 
Chapel of the College des Ecossais, within the city — an in- 
stitution founded in 1325 by David, Bishop of Moray in Scot- 
land. One morning we repaired thither, and summoning 
the porter, made known our wish to see the Chapel. He 
conducted us to it — a small and simple apartment paved 
with marble — but we looked around in vain for any monu- 
ments. None were to be seen except the inscriptions on the 
pavement, which told us that below were buried some old 
Scottish Bishops, whose armorial bearings were there carved 
upon their tombs, and whose names — Barclay and Beatoun 
— are familiar to those acquainted with the history of their 
native land. 

Not seeing what we wished, we inquired for the tomb 
of King James. The Custode at once led us into an adjoin- 
ing room which, he said, had once been part of the Chapel. 
Its appearance was antique from the style of the carved 
seats around it, and the stained glass of the pointed window. 
At one end was a large alcove concealed by a curtain of 
heavy crimson velvet. Our guide drew it aside, and before 
us was the massive tomb of the last Stuart King that reigned 
in England. It is about ten feet high, of black and white 
marble, executed in 1703, two years after his death. His 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 139 

heart is all that was interred here, the rest of his body being 
buried at St. Germain where he died, and where another 
monument to his memory has been placed by order of George 
IV. This one was erected by his faithful friend and the ., 
constant companion of his exile, James, Duke of Perth, 
governor of his son, the Pretender, who afterwards assumed 
the title of James III. On the top of the monument was 
formerly an urn of bronze gilt, containing the brain of the 
King. It was in that day the custom with distinguished in- 
dividuals, to have the parts of their body interred in different 
places, and we saw the same thing in Vienna, where the 
Royal House of Austria are buried in one chapel, while in 
another are their hearts in silver and gold urns. To this 
College also — as is mentioned in the long Latin inscription 
on the monument — the King confided all his valuable manu- 
scripts, but they unfortunately disappeared during the 
French Revolution. 

On the pavement, in front of the King's monument, is a 
slab over the heart of the Queen, and another over the re- 
mains of Maria Louisa, their second daughter. Around 
them are inscriptions in memory of James Drummond, Duke 
of Perth — Mary Gordon of Huntley, Duchess of Perth — the 
second Duke of the same name, who died in 1726— John 
Caryl, LordDunford — the Duchess of Tyrconnel — Sir Pat- 
rick Monteath — Sir Marian O'Conoly — Dr. Andrew Hay — 
Dr. Lewis Innes, Confessor to James II. — and Dr. Robert 
Barclay. The little band who followed their exiled King in 
his years of banishment, and shared his fallen fortunes, are 
here sleeping together about his monument. They were 
faithful to him in life, " and in their death they were not 
divided." 



When the visiter is wandering through St. Peter's at 
Rome, pausing every moment before some splendid tomb of 



140 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

a Pope, where the skill of Michael Angelo, or Bernini, or 
Canova has been lavished on the statuary, there are two 
monuments which will particularly arrest his attention. 
One is a richly decorated tomb against the wall, intended 
to commemorate the virtues of Maria Clementina Sobieski, 
wife of the Chevalier de St. George, only son of James II. 
At its base is a porphyry sarcophagus partially covered with 
alabaster drapery, in which her body is deposited. Above is 
a female figure, holding in her hand a medallion portrait 
of the Queen, the size of life. It is of mosaic, but so per- 
fect in its execution that it cannot be distinguished from a 
highly finished painting. In the inscription on the tomb, her 
titles are enumerated, and among them she is styled — 
"Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland." She was 
the grand-daughter of King John Sobieski, who defeated the 
Turks at Vienna, and at the time of her marriage in 1715 
was called the greatest fortune in Europe. She died at 
Rome in 1755. 

Immediately opposite to it, against one of the broad pil- 
lars of the Church, is the celebrated monument executed by 
Canova to the last of this unfortunate family. Sir William 
Gell, who was in Rome when Scott arrived there, says that 
he accompanied him to St. Peter's, which was one of the first 
places he resolved to visit, that he might see the tomb of the 
last of the Stuarts. To me it was the most interesting spot in 
this vast building, and often as I passed through it, I felt in- 
clined to turn from the gorgeous monuments around to this 
more simple tomb, which recorded the termination of the 
long struggle of a gallant race, having on its enduring mar- 
ble the proud claims which they did not abandon even in 
death. It is a white marble mausoleum, about fifteen feet 
high, on the upper part of which are sculptured the royal 
arms of England. Below are three portraits in bas-relief. 
Two of them are in half armor, and the third in an ecclesi- 
astical dress. They are intended to represent the son and 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 141 

grandsons of James II. the last of whom died here as Cardi- 
nal York. Beneath is the inscription — Jacobo III. Jacobi 
II. Magn^ Brit. Regis filio, Karolo Edvardo, et Hen- 
rico, Decano Patrvm Cardinalivm, Jacobi III. filiis, Re- 
gime Stirpis StvardijE postremis, anno mdcccxix. The 
lower part of the monument is occupied by a representation 
of paneled doors, closed as if never again to be opened, and 
on each side of them stands an angel with an inverted torch, 
guarding the entrance. These two female figures are beau- 
tiful, and looking mournfully down, they seem to be the 
guardian genii of the ill-fated family, thus watching over 
their last resting-place. Above the door is the quotation — 

BEATI MORTTJI QUI IN DOBIINO MORIUNTUR. 

The bodies of these last representatives of the Stuart 
race are in the crypt under the Church. While going 
through the vaults, I looked for their tomb in vain, and 
when we had passed nearly to the end, inquired of the young 
priest who accompanied us with his lighted taper, where it 
was ? He said, we must return, and he would show it. We 
did so, and he pointed it out — a plain slab of marble, so 
small that we had passed it unnoticed among the many in- 
scriptions around. It is against the wall, a few feet from 
the pavement, while immediately below it is a projection, 
about six feet long by three broad, w^hich he touched with 
his hand, and told us, that within this were the bodies. Yet 
even in these dark passages, speaking only of death and sur- 
rounded by the memorials of those who had long since 
gone down to the dust, the same lofty claims are held forth. 
The inscription on that simple stone announces to us, that 
we stand by the sepulchre of James the third, Charles 

THE THIRD, AND HeNRY THE NINTH, KiNGS OF ENGLAND. As 

the elder brother descended to the tomb, the younger assumed 
the barren title he had not power to enforce, and bore it in 
testimony of his rights, until he had done with earthly crowns 



142 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

for ever. There is something melancholy in this inscription, 
when we remember how vainly yet how gallantly they 
fought to regain their hereditary throne, and how many 
thousands were loyal to them even unto death, ascending the 
scaffold rather than desert the cause of the ancient line. 

We felt indeed as we stood by their tomb, that a 
more appropriate place for their sepulchre could not be 
found. They were exiled from England for their attach- 
ment to the Church of Rome, and in the noblest temple 
which that faith has ever reared — the most magnificent in- 
deed which the world has ever seen — they have found their 
last resting-place. There, their gallant hearts are mould- 
ering, the sufferings of their exile atoning for the errors of 
their regal sway. 



THE COLISEUM.— PALACE OF THE C^SARS.- 

BATHS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Coliseum is what formerly passed under the name of 
the Flavian Amphitheatre, and is now the noblest remnant 
of old Rome. It is however only a massive ruin — ^the 
mighty skeleton of what it must have been, when, thronged 
by the gay population of the city, its seats were occupied 
by nearly one hundred thousand spectators. Begun by 
Vespasian ten years after the destruction of Jerusalem, 
many thousand captive Jews were employed in its construc- 
tion ; and when it was finished in the days of Titus, five 
thousand wild beasts were slain in the arena during the 
games which lasted a hundred days in honor of its dedica- 
tion. Such was its first baptism of blood, when the fierce 
animal of the desert and the still fiercer human being with 
whom he fought, poured out their lives together upon its 
sands. Here for four hundred years the gladiatorial shows 
took place, and many a wounded combatant rolled his eyes 
around these lofty seats, to see in despair only the signal 
that he was to have no mercy. To this spot, in the reign of 
Trajan, Ignatius was brought from Antioch to be devoured 
by lions, and thus — to use his own words — " like God's own 
corn, he was ground between the teeth of the wild beasts." 
The last martyr who died here was an Eastern monk Tele- 
machus, who in the reign of Honorius travelled to Rome to 
protest against these barbarous exhibitions. In his noble en- 



146 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

thusiasm he leaped into the arena to separate the combatants, 
and was torn to pieces by the infuriated spectators.* But 
the impression produced by this voluntary sacrifice was so 
profound, that the Emperor issued an edict prohibiting these 
bloody shows. 

The Romans seem to have been a race, sanguinary be- 
yond the ordinary rules of our nature. Even woAen shared 
in the ferocity of their mortal combats. They crowded these 
lofty seats around us, to watch the fortunes of the fight, 
when naked barbarians were arrayed against each other, in 
a contest from which one only must retire alive. In all 
their amphitheatres — here, and at Nismes and at Pompseii — 
we find honorable places provided for the Vestal Virgins ; 
and not only were they present, but it was their privilege to 
give the fatal signal which condemned to instant death the 
wretch who had been unsuccessful in the fight, and to watch 
that the bloody mandate was thoroughly obeyed. A more 
fearful picture cannot be drawn than that which Prudentius 
gives of such a scene— 

" Virgo — consurgit ad ictus, 
Et quoties victor fernim jugulo inserit, ilia 
Delicias ait esse suas, pectusque jacentis 
Virgo modesta jubet, converso pollice, rumpi ; 
Ni lateat pars ulla animse vitalibus imis, 
Altius impresso dum palpitat ense secutor."t 

So deep rooted indeed was this passion that it seems to 
have acted like a frenzy even on those whose reason protest- 
ed against it. St. Augustine tells us of a Christian young 
man, who being induced by his associates to enter the am- 
phitheatre, for a time resolutely kept his eyes closed. At 
length, a tremendous shout of the spectators induced him to 
look out on the arena. The instant he caught the sight of 
blood, he seemed to imbibe the ferocious spirit of those around 

* Theodoret, v. 26. t Prudent, adv. Sym. ii. 1095. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 147 

him — he shouted — he cheered on the combatants — he was 
possessed with an uncontrollable fury — and when he de- 
parted, the desire to return was too irresistible to be with- 
stood.* Such was Roman character. Indeed, a greater 
contrast cannot be given than that which existed between the 
elegant theatrical shows of the Greeks, where they assem- 
bled to listen to the lofty Tragedies of ^schylus or Sophocles, 
and the brutal exhibitions of this arena, for which the Ro- 
man populace gathered. And yet these separate scenes but 
illustrate the different characters of the two nations. 

These bloody shows too were often on a gigantic scale, 
which we should suppose could hardly have been witnessed 
without insanity. We will give — in the expressive language 
of another — one single instance, that of the Emperor Claudi- 
us at the Lacus Fucinus. " It is one mighty theatre : the 
terraces of the Abruzzo are covered with eager and delighted 
spectators. Claudius himself, with the bloody Agrippina, 
the young Nero, and the infamous favorite Narcissus, is 
seated at the awful show. There are slaves and criminals 
to the number of nineteen thousand. They are divided off 
into two fleets to fight against each other on the lake. As 
they defile past the Emperor, they cry, ' Hail ! O Emperor ! 
The dying salute thee.' The Emperor returns the saluta- 
tion in such a way that the 'poor wretches believe they are 
pardoned, and break forth into a frantic tumult of rejoicing, 
for they love life like other men, and have red blood in their 
bodies, and each of them a soul as immortal as thine, O 
Claudius. But pardon ? Are all these spectators on the 
shelving slopes of the lake-girdling Abruzzo to be disappoint- 
ed ? The Emperor descends to the brink, and explains the 
mistake, and bids the prostorians goad the reluctant victims 
on board the ships, and nineteen thousand immortal beings, 
for whom Christ had died some twenty years before, mur- 

* August. Conf. vi. 8. 



148 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

dered each other in a mock battle, for the pleasure of the 
Roman Emperor and people."* 

It was a' solemn thought therefore as we stood in this 
arena, and remembered the nature of the amusements in 
which the fierce multitudes of Rome rejoiced, that here for 
four centuries death had reaped a most abundant harvest. 
Leopards from the East — lions from Africa — bears from the 
far North — and whatever strange and rare animals the con- 
quered provinces could anywhere furnish, were used to 
slaughter the helpless slaves, whose lives they considered of 
no value except to contribute to their sports. Here too was 
poured forth the blood of many who died to bequeath the pure 
faith to us, and those seats which towered so high above us 
were once filled by crowds, rejoicing with savage exulta- 
tion to see how a Christian could die. Recollections there- 
fore of bitter suffering crowded on us as we thought of its old 
magnificence, and we felt that dark must be the Penates 
which guarded these majestic ruins. 

The latest scene of bloodshed which took place within 
these walls, was in the fourteenth century, and worthy of a 
brief notice, as giving some insight into the manners of the 
times. It was in September, A. D. 1332, that the population 
of Rome, like their fathers ten centuries before, crowded 
again the old Coliseum. It had been resolved to exhibit 
there a bull-fight, after the Moorish and Spanish fashion, and 
proclamations had been sent through all Italy, inviting the 
young nobles to exhibit their skill and valour. The day 
had now arrived, and temporary seats covered these time- 
worn stones, while on different sides were three balconies, 
lined with scarlet cloth, for the three divisions of Roman 
ladies who were to grace the sports by their presence. The 
matrons from the Trastevere, beyond the Tiber, boasting of 
the pure blood of ancient Rome, and retaining in every fea- 

* F. W. Faber. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 149 

ture the haughty lineaments of antiquity, were led by the 
fair Jacova di Rovere, while the nobility of the city were as 
usual divided between the rival houses of the Colonna and 
the Orsini. The charms of Savella Orsini — says Gibbon, to 
whom we are indebted for this description — are mentioned 
with praise, while the Colonna regretted the absence of the 
youngest of their house, who had sprained her ancle in the 
garden of Nero's tower. Cotemporary annalists give the 
colors and devices of some twenty of the most conspicuous 
Knights, and their names are among the most illustrious of 
the Papal States. Such were Malatesta, Savelli, Conti, An- 
nabaldi, Altieri, and Corsi. None of the Orsini took the 
field, though three of their hereditary enemies, the Colonnas, 
were among the combatants. They each bore the device of 
their house, the single column, with inscriptions denoting the 
lofty greatness they claimed for their family — "Though sad, 
I am strong " — " Strong as I am great " — "If I fall, you fall 
with me." The latter was indeed the motto usually borne 
by this princely house, and was considered as addressed to 
the Roman people, intimating that the Colonna family was 
the support of the state, and if one fell, the other would be 
involved in the same ruin. Each champion in succession 
descended into the arena alone, with a single spear, to en- 
counter a wild bull. The combats were dangerous and 
bloody, a curious renewal of the old conflicts which once 
took place on this same arena. In proportion too they were 
equally fatal, for eighteen of these volunteers were killed, 
and nine wounded. But the old chroniclers seem to think 
that this also had its use, for though many of the noblest 
families in Rome were called to mourn, yet the pomp of the 
funerals at the Chui'ches of St. John Lateran and St. Maria 
Maggiore, furnished a second holyday to the people.* 

It was on a bright sunny morning that we first went over 

* Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap. Ixxi. 



150 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

these ruins, which awaken such a host of varied recollections. 
As we stood on the highest arch and looked down into the 
arena, and round on the wasted Campagna, all seemed "as 
calm and peaceful as if no scene of human suffering could 
ever have been occurring there. Not a sound was heard, 
except the notes of the birds singing among the ivy which 
had forced itself between the stones. But these remains are 
in their massive character unlike anything else we have 
seen. The immense stones of which the building was form- 
ed, have been shattered into the most picturesque shapes, 
until as they project above us, they have the form of over- 
hanging rocks. You can however plainly trace every part 
— the immeasurable galleries — the seats for the Patricians 
and Plebeians-^and the dens below, from which when the 
grating was withdrawn, the wild beasts could bound into 
the arena, to meet their expecting foe. As you wind up the 
ruined stairs, the copsewood overshadows you, and it is 
necessary to put aside the wild olive, the myrtle and the fig 
tree, when you thread your way through the labyrinths. 
The grey lichens, the variegated moss, and the wild flowers so 
countless in this climate, form a carpet beneath your feet, or 
hang in rich festoons and drapery over the ruins. The rich- 
est depth of coloring seems to pervade the whole — the sun of 
many ages has tinged every arch and frieze — and we have 
the dark stains on the mouldering ruins contrasted with the 
bright hues of the living vegetation. Shelley says — he can 
scarcely believe, that when encrusted with Dorian marble 
and ornamented by columns of Egyptian granite, its effect 
could have been so sublime and impressive as in its present 
state. 

And yet, massive as these remains are, they constitute 
but a small portion of the original structure. It was — as we 
have stated in a former chapter — utterly ruined by Robert 
Guiscard in the twelfth century. Having been stormed and 
taken, a portion of its walls was hopelessly shattered. Then 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 151 

for several hundred years it was used as a kind of quarry- 
by the Romans. In the fourteenth century Urban V. offered 
the stones for sale, but found no purchaser except the Fran- 
gipani who wished to use them for building their palace. 
Finally, the contending families agreed to leave them as com- 
mon property, and in this way, the Farnese and many other 
palaces were erected from the materials. Yet shorn of its 
glory and ruined as we now see it, enough still remains to 
excite the wonder of the world. 



" From its mass 



Walls, palaces, half-cities, have been rear'd ; 
Yet oft the enormous skeleton ye pass. 
And marvel where the spoil could have appear'd. 
Hath it indeed been plunder'd, or but clear'd V 

The wide arena is now covered with grass like a lawn, 
piercing the chasms of the broken arches, and thus extending 
far under the ruins. A few years ago a subterranean pas- 
sage was discovered, communicating with the palace on the 
Palatine, within which it is probable that Commodus was 
attacked by the conspirators. Gibbon says — " he was re- 
turning to his palace through a dark and narrow portico in 
the amphitheatre." Near at hand is the ruined Meta Suclans, 
the fountain at which the gladiators refreshed themselves 
after the toil and heat of their conflicts. 

Although the closing of this amphitheatre was one of 
the noblest and most difficult triumphs of Christianity, yet as 
we stand within it we have sorrowful evidence, how much the 
spirit of that faith has changed since martyrs shed their 
blood upon this spot. A Cross has indeed been erected in 
the centre, yet on it is an inscription, promising two hundred 
days' indulgence for each kiss which it receives. — " Bacci- 
ando la S. croce si acquistano duecento giorni di indulgenza." 
Around the enclosure are fourteen Stations, that is, small 
shrines, each of which has painted above it some event which 



152 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

happened to our Lord on his way to the Cross, and the de- 
vout stop at these in succession to offer their prayers. We 
could see them at all times going their rounds, and then 
ending with a kiss to the Cross in the centre. On one side 
is also a rude pulpit, from which a Capuchin was accustom- 
ed at times to preach. This service cannot be otherwise 
than impressive to a thoughtful mind, even while having no 
sympathies with the theology on which the sermon is based. 
The poor monk was generally no orator, yet it was a strange 
contrast to hear his earnest appeals echo through these old 
porticoes, and the doctrines of our common faith announced 
on that spot which once resounded only with the noise of the 
death-struggle — the roaring of wild beasts — and the gladia- 
tor's strife. 

It is pleasant to visit these old ruins at different times 
through the day and night, to mark the effect produced by the 
change of lights and shadows. In the purple and golden hue 
of evening there is a mellow radiance diffused over them, 
which reminds us of the glowing pictures of Claude. The 
fading light softens down the desolation, and adds to their 
beauty without subtracting aught from their imposing char- 
acter. Like Melrose Abbey, however, he who " would view 
them aright," must " visit them by the pale moonlight." 
This rule indeed Madame de Stael applies to all the remains 
of antiquity in this land. "The sun of Italy" — she says — 
" should shine on Festivals : but the moon is the light for 
ruins." 

The second time we stood within these crumbling walls, 
it was late at night. Fortunately we came too early, and 
therefore had an opportunity of seeing the effect produced, 
as the broad deep shadow which the giant building cast, was 
gradually retreating before the light. When we arrived, 
the moon was just high enough to silver one edge of the ruin, 
while the rest was left in darkness. All was silent around, 
except the step of the solitary sentinel who was pacing the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROBIE. 153 

arena, and the murmur which arose at times from the neigh- 
boring city. And there we waited, as the Queen of Night 
— so glorious in the clearness of an Italian sky — gradually 
mounted up, and tinged row after row of the terraces on 
which once the spectators sat, the contrast of her silvery hues 
and the deep shadows of the vaults beneath, producing an 
effect of which no idea can be conveyed in the cold language 
of prose. The dark trees waving above the broken arches, 
stood out in bolder relief, and the rents in the shattered bat- 
tlements became more apparent as the light streamed through 
them. There is however but one description which has ever 
done justice to the grandeur of this scene. It is that which 
Lord Byron has given in his " Manfred," where every allu- 
sion, and every single line indeed, presents so vivid a pic- 
ture to one who has been there in ''the witching hour of 
night," that, long as the quotation is, this little sketch would 
be incomplete without it. 

" I do remember me, that in my youth, 
When I was wandering — upon such a night 
I stood within the Coliseum's wall, 
'Midst the chief relics of almighty Rome ; 
The trees which grew along the broken arches 
Waved dark in the blue midnight, and the stars 
Shone through the rents of ruin ; from afar 
The watchdog bay'd beyond the Tiber ; and 
More near from out the Caesars' palace came 
The owl's long cry, and, interruptedly. 
Of distant sentinels the fitful song 
Begun and died upon the gentle wind. 
Some cypresses beyond the time-worn breach 
Appear'd to skirt the horizon, yet they stood 
Within a bowshot. — Where the Caesars dwelt, 
And dwell the tuneless birds of night, amidst 
A grove which springs through levell'd battlements, 
And twines its roots with the Imperial hearths, 
Ivy usurps the laurel's place of growth ; — 
But the gladiator's bloody circus stands, 
A noble wreck in ruinous perfection ! 



154 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

While Caesar's chambers, and the Augustan halls. 

Grovel on earth in indistinct decay. — 

And thou didst shine, thou rolling moon, upon 

All this, and cast a wide and tender light, 

Which soften'd down the hoar austerity 

Of rugged desolation, and fiU'd up. 

As 'twere anew, the gaps of centuries ; 

Leaving that beautiful which still was so. 

And making that which was not, till the place 

Became religion, and the heart ran o'er 

With silent worship of the great of old ! 

The dead, but sceptred sovereigns, who still rule 

Our spirits from their urns." 

The palace of the Caesars — allusions to which Byron has 
thus mingled with his description of the Coliseum— stands 
not far distant. It is a mass of ruins — a mile and a half in 
circuit — covering the whole of the Palatine Hill. Here, 
century after century, the Roman Emperors lavished the 
wealth of a tributary world to increase the magnificence of 
their dwelling place, until at last Nero surpassed them all by 
his Aurea, or Golden House. With our modern habits of 
estimating, we can form but little conception of its splendor. 
Suetonius says — " To give an idea of the extent and mag- 
nificence of this edifice, it is sufficient to mention, that in its 
vestibule was placed a colossal statue of Nero one hundred 
and twenty feet in height. It had a triple portico, supported 
by a thousand columns, with a lake, like a little sea, sur- 
rounded by buildings which resembled cities. It contained 
fields, vineyards, pasture ground and groves, in which were 
all descriptions of animals, both wild and tame. Its interior 
shone with gold, gems, and mother-of-pearl. In the vaulted 
roofs of the dining rooms were machines of ivory, which 
turned round, and from pipes scattered flowers and perfumes 
on the guests. The principal banquetting hall was a 
rotunda, so constructed that it revolved night and day, in 
imitation of the motion of the earth. The baths were sup- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 155 

plied from the sea, and the sulphurous waters of Albuloe. 
When Nero, after dedicating this fairy palace, took up his 
abode there, his only observation was — ' Now I shall begin 
to live like a man.' " 

And what remains of all this splendor ? Nothing but 
shapeless ruins. The battlements are levelled — the trees 
twine their roots through the marble floors on which once the 
Csesars trod — and the whispering reeds, the tall grass, and 
the rank herbage wave in neglected luxuriance over the 
vanished pomp of the Masters of the world. We wandered 
over the Hill, and among the fallen columns, listening to the 
questionable representations of our guide, as he showed in 
one place the ruins of a theatre, and in another gave some 
shattered arches the name of a temple. The only well de- 
fined remains are those of the Baths of Livia. Tapers were 
lighted, and we descended into them, for they are now com- 
pletely covered by the ruins and the accumulated earth 
above. Yet within, the frescoes and gilding are in some 
places as plain and fresh as ever, and beneath the dark 
arches are the mosaic floors, which once displayed a beauty 
fit for the Imperial family of Rome. Among these crum- 
bling walls and prostrate pillars, the husbandmen now culti- 
vate their gardens, and the bell sounds mournfully from the 
Monastery of Capuchin monks which has been erected on 
one portion of the Hill. A few tall palm trees alone are seen 
within their grounds, for their rigorous discipline seems to 
war even with the beauty of nature, and the religious house 
of Bonaventure is an exception to the Italian maxim — 

" Dove abitano i fratri, e grassa la terra." 

Treasures of art, however, must still be concealed be- 
neath all this rubbish, for it has raised the surface of the 
ground more than thirty feet above its former level. As late 
as the year 1720, by accident a magnificent hall was here 
discovered, two hiindred feet in length, one hundred and 



156 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

thirty-two in breadth, richly ornamented with statues, columns 
of giallo antico, and other precious marbles. Yet now this 
mass of crumbling desolation is a scene of confusion on which 
the antiquarian speculates in vain. 

" Cypress and ivy, weed and wall-flower grown 
Matted and mass'd together, hillocks heap'd 
On what were chambers, arch crush'd, columns strown 
In fragments, choked-up vaults, and frescoes steep'd 
In subterranean damps, where the owl peep'd. 
Deeming it midnight : — temples, baths, or halls ? 
Pronounce who can ; for all that learning reap'd 
From her research hath been, that these are walls — 

Behold the Imperial Mount ! 'tis thus the mighty falls." 



Among the ruins of Rome those of her Baths occupy a 
prominent place. A writer on Antiquities thus describes 
them as they appeared in the days of their glory — " They 
were open every day to both sexes. In each of the great 
Baths there were sixteen hundred seats of marble, for the 
convenience of the bathers, and three thousand two hundred 
persons could bathe at the same time. There were splendid 
porticoes in front for promenade, arcades with shops, in 
which was found every kind of luxury for the bath, and halls 
for corporeal exercises and for the discussions of philosophy ; 
and here the poets read their productions, and rhetoricians 
harangued, and sculptors and painters exhibited their works 
to the public. The baths were distributed into grand halls, 
with ceilings enormously high, and painted with admirable 
frescoes, supported on columns of the rarest marbles, and the 
basins were of oriental alabaster, porphyry, and jasper. 
There were in the centre, vast reservoirs for the swimmers, 
and crowds of slaves to attend gratuitously upon all who 
should come." These Baths were either entirely free, or at 
the utmost, the price of admission was a quadrani, the small- 
est piece of money coined, which was given to the keeper. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 157 

Under the Emperors it was their policy to do every thing 
for the amusement of the people, and when not only the 
necessaries of life, but also every luxury, was provided for 
them, and shows, races, and combats helped the dissolute 
population to while away the hours of the day, these mag- 
nificent structures also were erected to minister to their plea- 
sures. Bathing was indeed an elaborate business with the 
Romans. They passed through a course of baths in succes- 
sion, where the agency of air as well as water was applied. 
These were of different temperatures, hot and cold water 
being furnished in profusion, while between them they took 
gentle exercise, were anointed with oil in the sun, or in the 
tepid or thermal chamber, or took their food. And this pro- 
cess was often repeated. Many, we learn, bathed seven or 
eight times in the course of the day. 

There are but few customs of the almost forgotten civili- 
zation of ancient Rome, of which we cannot from some 
source recover an accurate account. It is so with their 
magnificent ThermcE. Those which remain are indeed in 
ruins, but on the walls of that of Titus was found a fresco, 
containing a view of one according to the perfect arrange- 
ments of that day. Six chambers are exhibited to us in this 
painting, and we see the burning furnaces which heated the 
apartments, and in each the individuals going through the 
process of this much-prized luxury. But more satisfactory 
still, is a discovery made at Pompeii, where an entire estab- 
lishment was disinterred ; and thus in this miniature city of 
Roman splendor, we can survey these apartments, just as they 
were when seventeen centuries ago the last bathers left them. 
In a day which we spent rambling around this silent city of 
the Dead, we found at noon that our guides had arranged the 
dinner for our party in this Hall of the Bath, and there we 
passed an hour, with around us the dusty fountains — the 
bronze pipes — and the seats for the bathers — while directly be- 
fore us was the marble reservoir, with the maker's name 

8 



15S THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

carved on it, and the price paid him for his work. Such an 
hour enables us to travel back over the gulf of forgotten cen- 
turies ; and when in addition we see the instruments of this 
old luxury — the very strigils which the slaves dropped as 
they fled — we feel able in imagination to build up once more 
the ruins of Rome's voluptuous baths — ^to wake to a second 
existence the gay crowds which thronged their porticoes — and 
to behold them as crowned with garlands they listened to the 
music of the Cithara, or discussed the breathing wonders of 
Grecian statuary which lined these halls. 

We have already described the Baths of Caracalla. 
Those of Diocletian on the Viminal are very similar, and 
consecrated by the tradition that they were erected by the 
labor of forty thousand Christians. They cover an area of 
more than a mile in circuit, yet are now in ruins, with the 
exception of the Pinacotheca, or grand central hall. This 
— the most noble saloon of ancient Rome which has come 
down to us uninjured from ancient times — was preserved by 
being early converted into a Christian church. For this we 
must thank the legend which connected its history with that 
of the martyrs. It was remodelled by Michael Angelo as 
we now see it — the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. 
Above, in the lofty vaulted roof, are the metallic rings from 
which the ancient lamps were suspended, and the eight mas- 
sive columns of oriental granite standing around, are still in 
their original positions. 

From these Baths but a short distance separated us from 
those of Titus on the Esquiline. Our course was through 
a street corresponding with the ancient Vicus Sceleratus, in- 
famous in Roman history as the scene of the impiety of 
Tullia, who there drove her car over the dead body of her 
father, Servius Tullius, after he liad been assassinated by 
her husband Tarquin. At length, we reached a vineyard, 
at the end of which is the entrance to the Baths. Before 
us stood a row of dark arches in picturesque ruin, under 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 159 

which we passed, and with our guide commenced the descent. 
Here once stood the villa of Mecoenas, a portion of which 
was incorporated into this edifice. The work of excavation 
is slowly going on, and future years will probably bring to 
light many precious remnants of antique art. In one of these 
halls the group of the Laocoon was found — a mere speci- 
men indeed of those exquisite works, lifeless but lifelike, 
which classic Greece surrendered to her conquerors, and 
with which they filled every public building. 

It is strange how admirably parts of these chambers 
have been preserved, and now that the earth is removed, we 
see them as they were seventeen centuries ago. Beneath 
the rubbish is often disclosed a pavement of mosaic inlaid 
with the richest marbles, so that even Apuleius might here 
have realized what he considered the height of human 
felicity — 

" Vehementer iterum ac soepius beatos illos qui 
Super gemmas et monilia calcant !" 

Above us was the arched ceiling, thirty feet high, covered 
with frescoes, and as our guide elevated his light on the end 
of a long pole, we saw the beautiful arabesque decorations 
so remarkable for their graceful outlines. Birds and animals 
— serpents and fawns and satyrs — are painted there, and the 
colors are oflen unchanged from their early freshness, some 
indeed possessing a beauty of tint in the rich deep crimson, 
which modern art finds it difficult to imitate. Raphael deem- 
ed these drawings well worthy of his study, and copied and 
re-produced them on the walls of the Vatican. Festoons of 
flowers and rich tracery compose the borders, while here and 
there naked figures sport, and disclose that spirit of volup- 
tuousness which was the characteristic of Rome when these 
halls were built. In the works of the Empire we read every 
where the proof, that her Patricians had degenerated into 
Sybarites, seeking only to refine vice, and pass their days in 
one unbroken dream of pleasure. 



160 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

But what a scene must Rome have presented in the years 
which preceded her downfall, when she had gathered on 
these Seven Hills, all that could be rifled from a conquered 
world ! If her sons had lost the austerity of the Iron Age, 
the change had also fitted them with deeper devotion to cul- 
tivate a taste for the beautiful in Art. While they received 
from the plains of the Ilissus, those graceful fables which 
consecrated every spot — giving to the waters their Nymph, 
and to the mountain its Oread — ^the faith brought with it also 
something of that spirit of poetry, whose true home was on 
the heights of Phyle, and among the groves of Cithseron and 
Hymettus. They learned to admire the creative power of 
Praxitiles and Scopas — of Phydias and Myron — writing in 
sculpture on the frieze of each shrine and temple, the radiant 
legends of their old Mythology, or producing from the lucid 
marble of Pentelicus the transcendent forms of the gods they 
worshipped. These then became the treasures which wealth 
sought to collect, until at last one city contained the spoils of 
genius for a thousand years. How sad the change which 
has swept away these miracles of art ! Even the peasant 
of the Campagna, degraded as he seems to be, realizes the 
fall of this Mistress of the world, and as he labors among 
her mouldering ruins, you may hear the words of his melan- 
choly song — 

" Roma ! Roma ! Roma ! 
Non e piu come era prima !" 



DRAMATIC CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH SER- 
VICES. — SERMON BY A VICAR-GENERAL.— 
THE CAPUCHIN CEMETERY. 



CHAPTER XIK 

The great trait of the Church services in Italy is, their 
dramatic character. There seems to be a tendency to ex- 
press every thing by sensible images, and the evil is, that 
men may forget the distinction between the sign and the 
thing signified. Expiring Paganism in its dying strug- 
gles threw its mantle over its conqueror, and then began the 
imitation of heathen rites. The lustral water — ^the incense 
— and the processions of the antique faith of Greece, were 
too faithfully copied in the holy water — the censer — and the 
sacred processions of the Christian Church. 

The Middle Ages increased the difficulty, from the mis- 
taken zeal and perverted taste which then existed within the 
Church. It seems to have been the study of her friends, to 
invent new offices — to add to the ceremonies of the Ritual — 
to render the pomp of her outward adorning more magnificent 
— and the dresses of her clergy more dazzling. While doc- 
trines were gradually changing, the exterior of religion was 
also fast losing the simplicity of ancient times, until it be- 
came encumbered with the accumulated inventions of cen- 
turies. 

Passion Week gives ample scope for the development of 
this dramatic taste. In many of the Churches, the Gospel 
which contains an account of our Lord's trial, is read by differ- 
ent priests, who distribute among themselves the various parts 
of the dialogue. In some of the little country towns, the old 



164 THE CHRISTJIAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

miracle plays — or representations of different Scripture 
scenes by actors — are still performed. We spent this week 
in Vienna, and were able as it passed, to see each step of 
the Crucifixion regularly represented. On the arrival of 
this Season, the altars in the Churches were stripped of their 
flowers, embroidered cloths and ornaments, and all things 
wore an appearance of desolation. On Good Friday, the 
body of our Lord, as large as life, was suspended on the 
Cross in the different Chapels, which were generally, to in- 
crease the effect, lighted only to a twilight gloom, while 
crowds of worshippers were kneeling before these images. 

At night it was taken down, and laid out like a corpse 
before the altar, covered with a pall, where it remained 
until Easter Even was over. I do not remember a more 
striking scene than the Cathedral of St. Stephen presented 
on that occasion. It was a brilliant moonlight night when 
we approached it. How magnificent it looked when seen at 
this time, part flooded with brightness and part in the deep 
shadow, the rents and corroding inroads of time concealed, 
and its fretted pinnacles and delicate tracery thrown out in 
bold relief against the clear sky ! Its " long drawn aisles" 
seemed to have doubled in length, and its lofty arches and 
massive columns were even more imposing than in the glare 
of day. Through the vast building there was only a feeble 
lam-p here and there, just sufficient to show its extent, except 
a distant Chapel which was brilliantly lighted up. There 
seemed to be every possible variety. One Chapel had been 
left in perfect darkness, and as we passed it, the moon broke 
forth from the clouds, and poured its rays through the tall 
Gothic window, lighting up the beautiful shrines, and spread- 
ing a ghastly hue over the figures on the monuments. An- 
other had a single glimmering light at the far end, appear- 
ing like a distant star. And all around were worshippers 
kneeling. Some in the faint light of the nave, and others 
just visible in the deep gloom of the arches. Here they. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 165 

watched in prayer through all hours of the night. Every- 
thing seemed to be skillfully arranged to produce its effect 
on the imagination and the senses. 

On Easter Even there is a splendid procession of the 
Austrian Court from one Chapel to another, carrying the 
Host to represent the body of our Lord. When Easter morn- 
ing dawns, the whole scene is again changed. The gayest 
ornaments deck the Churches, and the most cheerful music 
is heard in the services. 

In some of the Italian Churches, however, on Good Friday 
the representation of the Crucifixion, the " Agonie," or " Tre 
Ore," forms a perfect Drama. Dr. Wiseman speaks of 
some of these services as being " worthy of ancient Trage- 
dy." An artificial mount — in imitation of Mount Calvary — 
is formed as in a theatre, with pasteboard rocks and thickets, 
and painted trees. On the declivity are seen the Roman 
soldiers in armor, some mounted on pasteboard horses, while 
on a more elevated spot are the three crosses, to which are 
nailed the figures of our Lord and the two malefactors, all 
arranged so as to produce the best stage effect. At the time 
of the Crucifixion a sermon of three hours in length is deliv- 
ered, the different topics of which are taken from the excla- 
mations of our Lord upon the Cross. At last, when the 
priest comes to His dying cry — " It is finished" — he suddenly 
exclaims — " The moment has arrived — the Saviour now ex- 
pires" — and all instantly sink upon their knees. For a time 
there is an awful silence, while they are absorbed in prayer, 
until the priest again exclaims — " They come, the holy men 
to bear the body of our Redeemer to the sepulchre" — and 
forthwith, from the side scenes issue a band of friars, clad in 
black, who toil up the ascent of Mount Calvary, and take 
down the body, amidst the groans and lamentations of the 
bystanders. As a preacher is always selected of wild and 
fervid eloquence, we may imagine the strong effect which 
must be produced, particularly upon the ignorant, by this 

8* 



166 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYBAYS IN ROME. 

service performed in a darkened Church, and mingled up 
with every stirring appeal to the feelings. 

The ordinary preaching of the Italians is deeply impas- 
sioned in its style, and I have sometimes listened to Domini- 
cans, whose bold declamation and earnest gestures as they 
leaned over the pulpit, reminded me of Peter the Hermit 
rousing up his audience to the Crusade. They deal much 
in apostrophe, and you frequently hear them turn aside with 
the address — " O Italy !" " O my country !" There was 
one sermon we heard — very different it is true in its character 
and style — of which I took notes, because it is a fair speci- 
men of the kind of argument used, and because the preacher 
had just been appointed to a high office in the Roman Cath- 
olic Church in America. 

Having seen in the Diario di Roma, that Dr. , Vicar 

General of , in the United States of America, was to 

preach in the Church of S. Andrea della Valle, we went 
with a party of friendsj for the purpose of learning what 
kind of a man was to be sent out to enlighten our country- 
men, and by listening to a sermon nearly one hour in length, 
had a very fair opportunity of forming an opinion. We 
found the Dr. to be rather a fine looking man, about forty- 
five years of age, and of a graceful delivery, although not 
very fluent in his style of speaking. 

His text was, John xv. 26, 27. " But when the Com- 
forter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, 
even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, 
he shall testify of me : and ye also shall bear witness, be- 
cause ye have been with me from the beginning." 

The first part of the sermon was common-place enough, 
merely a discussion of the question. Were the Apostles 
credible witnesses? This being finished, we reached the 
grand plunge — the great non sequitur, on which all the rest 
was founded. " Having thus proved the truth of religion, I 
have in the same way demonstrated the truth of the Catholic 



TH£ CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 167 

Church" — meaning, of course, the Roman Church. Here 
was the fallacy which ran through the whole discourse. 
The object evidently was to produce a confusion in the minds 
of his hearers, which would lead them to look upon the 
Catholic Church, and the Church of Rome, as synonymous 
terms, and the latter as the only development of religion in 
the world. This Church — he said — had always been a 
witness, and merely a witness for the truth, never attempt- 
ing to create anything nev^^, but only to testify to what was 
primitive. And of this he would give two instances. 

The first was, when the Council of Nice (A. D. 325) 
expressed the voice of the whole Church in opposition to 
Arius, " who taught," said the Doctor, " that our Lord was 
nothing more than a mere man." This, by the way, was a 
mistake in Ecclesiastical History, thus to impute to Arius 
what no one ever pretended he held, and what was only 
avowed by the lowest Humanitarians of a later day. 

The second instance was in the sixteenth century, when 
Luther had begun his heresy, and a General Council of the 
whole Christian loorld assembled at Trent, and there recorded 
the condemnation of the Church against his views. 

This was the Dr.'s ingenious parallel ; making the Council 
of Trent as much the voice of the whole Church as the 
Council of Nice, and its decrees as weighty and binding. 
Protestantism was then held up to scorn, as being the creed 
of a most miserable, contemptible minority, and the audience 
were assured, that the Church of Rome had all the testimony of 
antiquity — ^to give you his language — "looking back through 
a long chain of witnesses to the Apostles' days, without the 
least change or shadow of variation in opinion, not a single 
link being wanting," &c. Then followed a tirade against 
private judgment, and his hearers were left to suppose, that 
none who dissented from the Church of Rome had any Rule 
of Faith but their own unsettled opinions, while the unity of 
his own Church furnished a theme for lofty eulogium. The 



168 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

effect of Protestantism — ^he said — was shown in all the ex- 
cesses from Johanna Southcote to Mormonism, while it was 
absolutely impossible that the weed of fanaticism could ever 
take root in the Church of Rome. He talked indeed about 
their Unity with as much assurance, as if the Port Royalists 
had never existed — ^the Jesuits and Jansenists were sworn 
brethren — and the Pope did not have occasion every little 
while to proscribe some new sect which springs up within 
their bounds. 

Then came a passage on the security of their faith. 
" Hundreds of Protestants at their last hour had wished to be 
reconciled to the Church of Rome, while there never was — 
there never had been — a single Catholic who at that time 
wished a different faith." It would be difficult indeed for me 
to give, in this brief space, any idea of the ingenious evasions 
of the Vicar General — the shrewd and cunning manner in 
which he left his audience to infer things which he did not dare 
boldly to say — and the false impressions he conveyed by only 
half stating a fact. Not a single reference was made to the 
Church of England, or a hint given of its existence ; but his 
hearers were left to believe that the only dissent from Rome 
was what was witnessed in the loose, floating sects of the 
Continent. 

He concluded by stating, that a collection would be made 
in aid of the missions of the Church of Rome, and some of 
the hooded friars, with their faces entirely covered and only 
holes for their eyes, came forward to receive it. The ser- 
mon had certainly not disposed us to contribute to this object, 
nor did surrounding objects remove the impression. Above 
the High Altar was a magnificent silk canopy — which had 
been put up at Epiphany — and under it was what would be 
called — had it not been in Church — a pretty puppet-show. 
It was a collection of figures, each about two feet high. On 
a lofty throne, raised several steps, sat the Virgin Mary with 
the Infant Saviour in her arms, a magnificent crown on the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 169 

head of each. By her side stood Joseph, and before her 
were "the three wise men," offering their gifts. They too 
were splendidly attired, rather in the costume of the Middle 
Ages ; caps with feathers, velvet dresses with gold embroidery, 
and a page behind each, holding up his train. Two of the 
Magi were white, and one black.* Over them hung an im- 
mense star, cut out of silver paper, two feet high, and of 
course ten times larger than the head of either of the wise 
men. And all this was just above the High Altar ! 



From the sermon we went to the Church of the Capu- 
chins, adjoining their monastery. It was erected by Cardinal 
Barberini, brother of Urban VIII., and he is buried beneath 
the pavement, with the simple inscription — 

" Hie jacet pulvis, cinis, et nihil." 

This Chapel boasts of one of Guido's best works — the 
Archangel Michael trampling Lucifer under his feet. It 
has been called "the Catholic Apollo," from the majesty and 
grace with which the angel is clothed. My object however 
was to visit the cemetery beneath the Church, from which 
ladies, for some unknown reason, are entirely excluded. I 
found a monk loitering in one of the side Chapels, as if wait- 
ing to be the Cicerone to any visiters, and having made known 

^ They are called in Europe " the three Kings of Cologne," and we 
subsequently in the Cathedral of that city saw what are shown as their 
skulls. The legend is — that, when the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa 
stormed Milan, he obtained these bones, and presented them to the^ 
Bishop of Cologne, who had accompanied his expedition. Behind the 
High Altar is a magnificent shrine, within which are placed the coffins of 
silver-gilt, most curiously wrought. The skulls of the three Kings are 
crowned with diadems of gold, studded with jewels, and inscribed with 
their names — Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar — written in rubies. 
The treasures employed about the shrine are estimated at more than 
200,000 pounds sterling. 



170 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

my wish, he conducted me through the cloisters and down a 
flight of steps into their old burial place. Here are several 
low chapels, in which the monks are interred, the ground 
being composed of earth brought from Jerusalem. The 
largest will contain about thirty graves, and the others a 
somewhat smaller number. Against the wall on all sides, 
skulls are placed to the depth of nearly three feet, and ar- 
ranged in such a way as to form niches, as if for statues. 
The other bones of the skeletons are around, and even above 
on the ceiling, as if some one in mockery had been sporting 
with these sad trophies of death. Legs, arms, ribs, spines, 
and fingers are there, formed into stars and diamonds, wreaths 
and festoons, altars and chandeliers. Every form indeed 
which caprice could dictate in this strange charnel house. 

In each one of these niches stands the skeleton of a monk, 
arrayed in his old dress. The coarse brown serge is around 
him, with the cowl drawn over the fleshless skull — sandals 
are tied on the feet — -the cord is about the waist — the bones 
of the hands are clasped, holding a black cross, and dang- 
ling from them also, a card inscribed with his name and the 
date of his death. Sometimes, instead of upright niches, 
they are horizontal in shape, and the skeletons are reclining 
as if at rest on their beds. They are first buried in the con- 
secrated earth below, the number of graves in which is kept 
always filled. When therefore a monk dies, he is interred 
in the oldest gra.ve, and the skeleton which he displaces is 
arrayed in the monkish dress and fixed in one of the niches. 
There he remains for years until it is time for him to give 
place to some one else, and then his bones are mingled with 
the hundreds around him who are forming fantastic shapes 
on the ceiling. 

It was indeed a ghastly display — a sort of caricature of 
death, to see these skulls grinning from under their hoods — 
some white and glistening— some with the brown skin still 
undecayed and drawn like parchment over the bones. The 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 171 

teeth had fallen from their mouths, or else remained there 
black with age. And thus they are tied up, bending forward 
from their shallow niches, until they drop to pieces or are 
obliged to give place to others. The old monk spoke to me 
only in a low whisper, and seemed awed by the spirit of the 
place. He saw indeed his brethren around him, their dress 
of brown sackcloth exactly like his own, and before him in 
one of these little chapels was to be, first his grave, and then 
the niche from which, perhaps a century hence, his ghastly 
skeleton would look forth, a show to those who come after us. 
On the Festival of All Saints, the scene which is witness- 
ed here is still more striking. A solemn service is held in 
this Chapel of the Dead, and masses are offered for their 
souls. Garlands are placed on the white skulls of the sfc;ele- 
ton monks, and houquets of flowers in their hands. The 
brethren of the Order gather around the altar formed of the 
bones of those who have gone before them, and the lights 
which flash from above are upheld by chandeliers of the 
same ghastly materials. The dead and the living meet to- 
gether — and prayers are uttered by the aged men as they 
kneel at this melancholy shrine — and incense floats in clouds 
around these spoils of the tomb. But as they sing the Hymns 
for the dead, with what solemn emphasis must they chant the 
words of the Dies irce — 

" Lacrymosa dies ilia 
Qua resurget ex favilla 
Judicandus homo reus. 
Huic ergo parce Deus, 
Pie Jesu Domine ! 
Dona eis requiem." 

" That day of doom, that day of tears, 
When guilty man awakes in fears. 
From dust, and 'fore his Judge appears. 
O bounteous Jesus, Lord forever blest ! 
Give faithful souls departed, endless rest." 



CHRISTIAN ART.— OVERBECK. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

One of the wonders of Rome at the present day is a Ger- 
man artist of the name of Overbeck, with whose reputation 
we had been familiar, long before we left home. He is said 
to have brought Christian art to a higher degree of perfec- 
tion than any who are now living. It is one of the pleasures 
indeed of this land of paintings and statues, to study the pro- 
gress of art in past ages, and to mark how it has been gradu- 
ally modified and changed by the progress of the religious 
principle. 

The ancient Greeks worshipped only physical beauty, 
and deified the human form. They drew their inspiration 
from the old Mythology, and in the arts produced Apollo as 
the model of manly vigor, and Venus as the embodiment of 
female loveliness. They bequeathed this feeling to those 
who came after them and studied their creations of match- 
less grace; and thus for ages artists seemed to seek their 
inspiration only in "the fair humanities of old religions." 
Forming to themselves a standard of ideal beauty, they 
mused over it through long years of earnest toil, seeking to 
develope the conception and perpetuate it in the changeless 
marble. Sometimes every thought and effort were concen- 
trated upon a single statue, which was to embody his ideas 
of perfection. In it the artist enshrined the noble visions he 
had cherished, and it constituted at once the history of his 
own mind and th^abor of his life. 



176 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

But as the Christian faith prevailed and sunk deeper into 
the heart of the world, a higher principle seemed to be 
breathed into the arts, and we can trace its progress as the 
Mediaeval ages went on. Christianity gradually spiritual- 
ized and elevated the old conceptions of beauty. The reli- 
gious feeling became impressed upon the artist's mind, and 
the Madonna with her chastened loveliness and holy associa- 
tions, took the place of the Queen of Love. The students of 
art cultivated the poetry of religion. In the last century 
indeed an sesthetic school was formed on these principles, 
which for a long time exercised a great influence on the 
Rhine, but has now sunk out of notice. One of its mem- 
bers has beautifully set forth their views in a work entitled — 
" Reveries of an Art-loving Monk.'' The writer had once 
been a Protestant, but so devoted was he to these studies that 
he. became a Romanist, because, as he said, " he could not 
worship the art, without subscribing to t^p faith which gave 
it birth." 

This is almost the history of Overbeck. At the begin- 
ning of the present century he was dismissed from the 
Academy at Vienna, because he did not conform himself to 
the artistical rules laid down by the institution. He almost 
entirely discarded the use of models, except for the arrange- 
ment of drapery, because he thought them unfavorable to 
the ideal conception of character. He trusted to his own 
vivid imagination to delineate correctly the images which 
floated before his mind. In 1809 he came to Rome, where 
he was shortly joined by Peter Cornelius and William Scha- 
dow, men like-minded with himself, and for a time they lived 
in perfect seclusion, perfecting their new principles of art. 

They soon announced their fundamental doctrine, that a 
deep devotional feeling was the true source of an artist's 
inspiration. Thus, they became the Apostles of a new faith 
which was not long wanting in disciples. They discarded 
the theatrical attitudes taken from the danseurs of the ballet, 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 177 

and became more true to nature, while at the same time 
they gave every thing a religious character. But with some 
of their number professional enthusiasm was carried to an 
extent which led them back into the bosom of the Romish 
Church. They found indeed more affinity between the 
practice of the arts and her gorgeous services, than they did 
in the chilling, rationalistic creed in which they had been 
educated. Such was the case with Overbeck and Schadow, 
while Cornelius, we believe, remained unchanged. But 
these religious differences entered into their artistical feel- 
ings — diminished somewhat their fraternal intercourse — and 
the little brotherhood at last separated. Schadow and his 
pupils returned to Dusseldorf, where he was placed at the 
head of the Academy ; Cornelius was employed by the King 
of Bavaria at Munich; while Overbeck preferred remaining 
at Rome, where every thing suited his own peculiar temper, 
ament.* 

During the years which have since passed, Overbeck 
has continued a most bigoted Romanist, but at the same time 
celebrated for his austere life and saint-like character. He 
is indeed a perfect ascetic — one who in another age would 
have been canonized — living only for his faith, and using 
his art but to minister to its development. His very appear- 
ance tells his character. Thin and even emaciated, there is 
something spiritual in his whole look, and it conveys the idea 
of one worn down by fasts and vigils. His studio is open 
but for two hours in one single day of the week, and then 
his rooms are filled, and he is there himself to explain the 
pictures. The remark had frequently been made to me, 
that " they were as good as sermons," and they certainly 
seemed to produce a calming influence on those who studied 
them. There was an absence of that laughing conversation 

* Histoire de I'Art Moderne en AUemagne. Par le Compte A. 
Raczynski. 



178 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

which is heard in other studios, but the visitors talked in a 
low voice, as if affected by the very atmosphere and spirit of 
the place. And there stood the artist himself, with his rapt 
and earnest look, his gaze perhaps intently fixed on some 
drawing before him, his whole appearance harmonizing ad- 
mirably with the scene in which he was an actor. 

Overbeck devotes himself entirely to subjects of a strictly 
religious character, generally in illustration of some part of 
Scripture history. He paints but little — the only pieces he 
has executed being, I believe, altar-pieces for some Churches. 
He merely draws in charcoal, and his sketches are after- 
wards engraved, while the originals are purchased by a 
society in Germany which is desirous of forming a complete 
collection of his works. The wonder is, the effect — the 
expression he can produce with such simple materials. A 
sheet of paper — a piece of charcoal — and bread for erasure 
— these are all he requires to create the beautiful forms 
which almost seem to " live and move and have their being" 
before us. He throws his whole soul into the conception, 
and all his deep devotion breathes forth from every figure. 
He one day overheard a lady who was looking at one of his 
drawings, exclaim — " How beautiful ! how graceful V — 
" Madam" — said he — " it pains me to hear you say so. I 
was in hopes of making them more than beautiful and grace- 
ful. I wished them to be religious." 

In most of his drawings, the figure of our Lord is intro- 
duced, and it is in this that the artist particularly excels. 
There is a degree of calm and heavenly beauty, united with 
a commanding dignity, which is seen in the pictures of no 
other artist. In this particular Raphael has not excelled 
him in his celebrated picture of the Transfiguration. Over- 
beck indeed some time ago published a work in which he 
asserted, that no one could paint religious subjects without 
being himself a religious man. Correct however as the 
principle may be, his illustration of it is singularly unfortu- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 179 

nate, for he applies it to Raphael, asserting that in his latter 
days when he devoted his pencil and talent to the sensual 
mythology of Greece and Rome, he incapacitated himself for 
the loftier delineation of subjects of a sacred character. 
As he forcibly expresses it — " when Raphael forsook God, 
God forsook him." But who that has sat for hours without 
weariness before his Holy Family — the Madonna della Seg- 
giola — in the Pitti palace at Florence, but must enter his 
protest against such an assertion ! There is an expression 
of indescribable beauty in the countenance of the Virgin — 
the mingling of deep maternal love with the lofty conscious- 
ness of being the Mother of our Lord, which forces on us 
the conviction that in the closing years of life, he had not 
lost the high ideal character of his earlier Madonnas. Still 
more is the feeling deepened when we stand in the Hall of 
the Vatican, and gaze upon his last and noblest painting, 
which the hand of Death left unfinished, but which has re- 
mained for three centuries, the very triumph and miracle 
of art. 

We may however apply Overbeck's theory to himself, 
for there can be no doubt but that his deep devotional feeling 
is the inspiration which gives life and reality to the figures 
he sketches. When we were at his studio, he was employed 
on a half- finished picture of " the scourging of our Lord," 
in which the mild yet lofty endurance of the patient sufferer 
is finely contrasted with the demoniacal expression on the 
countenances of the tormentors. The face of each one is 
intended to represent some particular vice, such as pride, an- 
ger, envy, and it needs no key to point out which is delineat- 
ed. Another drawing was — " Our Lord sitting in the boat 
and preaching to the multitudes on shore." His arms are 
extended towards them, and His expression is the rapt look 
of one who alone could fully realize how much depended on 
their acceptance of his offers. Near it hangs " the Massacre 
of the Innocents." In the Gallery at Bologna we have seen 



180 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Guide's celebrated picture on the sarne subject. It has all 
the advantage of his splendid coloring, and the wildness of 
the different groups, the agony of the mothers, and the mar- 
ble paleness of the infants, are most remarkable, and yet in 
some respects we prefer this sketch by Overbeck. We 
shudder as we look at Guido's. It is too painful in its inte- 
rest. Here, on the contrary, the story is told with equal 
power, and yet the groups are arranged with such skill, as 
to show the 'striking points of the scene, at the same time 
skillfully veiling those which are too revolting to the feelings. 
My favorite picture however among them all, is one to illus- 
trate "the Parable of the Ten Virgins." Some are trim- 
ming their lamps, while others are just starting from sleep, 
and in the distance is seen the approaching train of the 
Bridegroom. Had not the artist objected to the terms, I 
should say, that the female figures were exceedingly grace- 
ful and beautiful. 

There is also one large allegorical picture, from which 
he has painted an altar-piece for the Church at Frankfort.. 
It represents— " the triumph of Christianity over the Arts." 
In the upper part of the picture is the Madonna holding the 
infant Christ, to represent Religion, and below her are the 
different schools of artists ; sculptors, painters, architects, 
and poets. All are looking towards her, and engaged in 
some work which is to advance the worship of her Son. 
Many of them are portraits which we recognize. There 
stands Michael Angelo holding his plan of St. Peter's — and 
Raphael, whose name brings to the mind such associations 
of beauty — and Dante, whose genius on its bold and fearless 
wing, was able to penetrate into the unseen world — and 
Tasso, wearing the laurel crown which so well becomes the 
author of " Jerusalem Delivered." 

But where among them all is so perfect an illustration of 
the triumph of our Faith over Art, as is furnished by Over- 
beck himself! Every talent and thought and feeling is con- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 181 

secrated to this cause. His object is not only to delineate 
the beautiful in nature, or to arrest and perpetuate by his 
pencil the bright visions which flit before his own inward 
soul, but through these instruments to inspire all around 
him with that love of moral beauty, which is a necessary 
characteristic of " the pure in heart." 



9 



EXCURSION ON THE APPIAN WAY. 



f 



\ 



CHAPTER XIV. 

We have been waiting for a peculiarly fine day to make 
an excursion beyond the walls, and this morning, one of the 
most beautiful that ever dawned, was all that we could 
desire. Although the seventh of January, yet the sun was 
shining so warmly, that in our land it would have passed 
for June, while there was a freshness in the air, which, as 
Madam de Stael says, "produces something of melody on the 
senses." 

We set out for the romantic fountain of Egeria, about 
three miles from the gates of the City, yet expecting, with 
the intermediate places of interest, to find full employment 
for the day. Our course led us past the Capitoline Hill, and 
through the Roman Forum with its lofty, solitary pillars, 
gleaming in the sunlight — the Forum, 

" where once the mightiest spirits met 



In terrible conflict ; this, while Rome was free. 
The noblest theatre on this side Heaven." 

We crossed the Via Sacra — passed under the Arches of 
Titus and Constantine — turned from the Coliseum — and 
winding round the base of the Palatine Hill, and the mighty 
ruins of the Palace of the Csesars, entered the Appian Way. 
Constructed nearly eighteen centuries ago, its solid pavement 
is now as firm as ever, and we rode over the same stones 
which in Rome's glorious day were trodden by the trium- 



186 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

phal procession, as it slowly passed up to the Capitol. The 
roads which extended to all parts of the empire were among 
the few works of utility constructed by the Romans, and 
these we can see were designed by Providence, that the world 
should thus devise the means by which the Church was to 
win it back to herself. " The legions of great Rome were 
for some centuries toiling with the pickaxe and spade to 
construct mighty roads by which Apostles might compass 
the ends of the earth. Those huge arteries were the un- 
conscious preparation which poor blind Paganism was 
making for the more rapid circulation of the fresh blood that 
should spring up and stir that monstrous empire, and be an 
element at once of health and of destruction."* 

The old Appian Way was distinguished for the splendor 
of the monuments lining its sides — similar to those now seen 
in the Street of the Tombs in Pompeii — and Cicero refers to 
them when he says, in his Tusculan Disputations — " When 
you go out of the Porta Capena, and see the tombs of Cala- 
tinus, the Scipios, the Servilii, and the Metelli, can you con- 
sider that the buried inmates are unhappy?" 

Let us endeavor then to call back seventeen centuries, and 
cause to pass before us the scenes of a classical funeral, 
as once it took place on this spot. It is the burial of one of 
the Metelli in the early age of the Empire, when the practice 
of interring the body had ceased, and that of burning been 
substituted in its place. The Libertinarii (undertakers) 
have performed their duty, and for some days the body, 
dressed in the official robes which once it wore, has been 
exposed on a couch in the vestibule of the house, with its 
feet towards the door, and the branch of Cypress waving 
above it. But it is now the eighth day, the time for the 
funeral, and the Appian Way is filled with crowds who have 
poured out to see the Patrician's burial. At length there 

* F. W. Faber. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 187 

came the slow procession, the wail of voices becoming gradu- 
ally more distinct, while, when it ceased, the music heard in 
its place sounded subdued and mournfully. First walked the 
Master of Ceremonies, attended by lictors dressed in black, — 
then the musicians playing their sorrowful strains — then the 
mourning women, who were hired to lament the deceased, 
and sing the funeral song in his praise — then the slaves 
whom he had freed, wearing the cap of liberty — then the im- 
ages of his many ancestors, and the military rewards he had 
gained. The corpse itself came next, on a couch of ivory 
covered with purple and gold. A garland of withered flowers 
enwreathed with fillets of white wool crowned his head — in his 
mouth was the coin to pay the ferryman in Hades — and by his 
side the honey-cake to bribe the watchful Cerberus. Leaves 
and flowers too were strewn upon the bier which was borne 
on the shoulders of the nearest relatives. Behind came his 
family in mourning, and as they walked they uttered loudly 
their lamentations, the females beating their breasts and 
wounding their faces with their nails. 

But they have at length reached the funeral pyre, as it 
stood altar-like in its shape, and covered with dark leaves 
and the Cypress branches consecrated to the tomb. Loudly 
they chanted the Hymn for the Dead, while all arranged them- 
selves round it, and the body was placed on its top. Then the 
nearest relative advanced, and with his face averted applied 
the torch. Perfumed oil had been poured over the wood, and 
the flames therefore encircled it at once, and darted up high 
into the air. For a long time the multitude stood around in a 
dread silence, while the priests flung perfumes into the fire, 
until the pile was consumed. Then the attendants came for- 
ward and poured red wine upon the hot, burning ashes, while 
the relatives gathered them with the bones into the urn. The 
service was now over — the priest with the laurel branch in 
his hand sprinkled those around with water of purification, 
and dismissed them with the word llicet. And as they 



188 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME 

departed to the city, each one often turned and bid farewell 
to the deceased, with the mournful word Vale, while the 
parting Hymn swelled loudly forth with its touching tones — 

I. 

•' Farewell, O soul departed ! 
Farewell, O sacred urn ! 
Bereaved and broken-hearted, 
To earth the mourners turn ! 
To the dun and dreary shore. 
Thou art gone our steps before ! 
But thither the swift hours lead us. 
And thou dost but awhile precede us ! 

Salve — salve ! 
Loved urn, and thou solemn cell. 
Mute ashes ! — farewell, farewell ! 

Salve — salve ! 

II. 

Ilicet — ire licet — 
Ah, vainly would we part ! 
Thy tomb is in the faithful heart. 
About evermore we bear thee ; 
For who from the heart can tear thee 1 
Vainly we sprinkle o'er us 

The drops of the cleansing stream ; 
And vainly bright before us 

The lustral fire shall beam. 
For where is the charm expelling 
Thy thoughts from its sacred dwelling ] 
Our griefs are thy funeral feast. 
And memory thy mourning priest. 
Salve — salve ! 

III. 

Ilicet — ire licet — 
The spark from the hearth is gone 

Wherever the air shall bear it j 
The elements take their own — 

The shadows receive thy spirit. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 189 

It will soothe thee to feel our grief, 
As thou glid'st by the gloomy river ; 

If love may in life be brief. 
In death it is fixed for ever. 

Salve — salve ! 

In the hall which our feasts illume 

The rose for an hour may bloom ; 

But the cypress that decks the tomb — 

The cypress is green for ever ! 

Salve — salve !"* 

The last lines have dispelled the vision — the shadows 
are gone — and there is nothing here but the barren Cam- 
pagana, and the desolate tombs of Rome's forgotten sons. 
Yet more picturesque remains I have never seen — mighty- 
masses of stone or brick work, utterly ruined during the 
wars of the Middle Ages, covered with rank vegetation, the 
wild vines trailing around them, or sometimes 

" with two thousand years of ivy grown 



The garland of Eternity, where wave 

The green leaves over all by time o'erthrown." 

We first stopped at one of those to which Cicero refers — 
the tomb of the Scipios. It is in a vineyard oq the hill-side, 
with a single solitary cypress rising above it. Fortunately, 
it became covered by the soil, and was thus forgotten and 
unknown until the year 1780. By accident it was then dis- 
covered, and its vaults once more opened, after being closed 
for twenty-one centuries ! The front is formed with arches 
and Doric columns, presenting a chaste faqade. We stopped 
at a stone gate having over it the inscription, Sepulchro degli 
Scipioni, and the sound of wheels having brought the usual 
cicerone with a tribe of assistants from their residence in the 
vineyard, we mounted the broken steps which led to the 

* This Hymn is by Sir E. L. Bulwer, and although not a translation 
yet embodies so much of the spirit of the old Hymns for the Dead, that 
cannot forbear giving it, 

9* 



190 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

tomb. Here tapers were lighted and we prepared to descend. 
I had expected a single chamber, but found instead a series 
of passages — dark and damp — extending far into the hill-side. 
The principal sarcophagus has been removed to the Vatican, 
where we had already seen it. Our guide pointed out the 
place from which it was taken. It bore the name of the 
great grandfather of Scipio Africanus, who was Consul B. 
C. 297, and when opened, the skeleton was still entire, with 
the ring upon one of its fingers. This relic is now in the 
collection of the Earl of Beverley, in England. Among 
other inscriptions remaining here, we saw one commemorative 
of the Scipio who conquered in Spain, and received from 
thence his name of Hispanus. The noblest of them all, 
Scipio Africanus, is not buried here. Driven by the in- 
gratitude of his countrymen from the city he had saved, the 
last part of his life was passed at Liternum, near Naples, 
and there are still shown the remains of his monument with 
a portion of the inscription — "Ingrata patria," &c. In an 
excursion which we made to Baiee, the guide took us to the 
top of a little hill, from which we could see in the distance 
the white and glistening marble, which shows where 
" Scipio sleeps by the upbraiding shore." 

But what solemn funeral rites must have been here per- 
formed in this old vineyard, as one by one the members of this 
noble family were borne to their sepulchre, and white-robed 
priests gathered about this portal by which now we stcod, 
and eloquent orators declaimed, and these hills around were 
covered by the thousands of Rome who had poured out to do 
honor to him who in Africa or Spain had led their armies to 
victory ! Who could then have prophesied, that this would 
be despoiled of its noble dust, and turned into a common 
show-place ! 

" The Scipios' tomb contains no ashes now ; 
The very sepulchres lie tenantless 
Of their heroic dwellers." 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 191 

In the same vineyard is a large Columbarium, a place 
where were deposited urns filled with the ashes of the slaves 
and freedmen. It was only discovered about four years 
since, and is therefore almost in its antique state. Upon 
descending into it, we found ourselves in an immense cham- 
ber, surrounded by little niches, each containing an urn. 
We removed the cover from several which were still filled 
with ashes and calcined bones. Above each was a little slab 
containing the name. Some inscriptions I copied. "Ne 
tangito O mortalis. Reverere manes deos." "Hie relicise 
Pelopis. Sit tibi terra lebis." It will be perceived that the 
Latin here would scarcely be called classical. One slave 
rejoiced in the name of "Scribonia Cleopatra." Some of 
the freedmen were evidently men of consideration, as it is 
said of one — "patri bene merenti." One we are told was a 
member of the pr.torian guard — another was butler to his 
master — another an actor, "imitator." Sometimes it is re- 
corded on the little monument — " frater ejus fecit "-^—some- 
times, — "pia mater fecit." Beneath, in a niche, still stands 
the little altar, with the inscription dedicating it to "Diis 
manibus," and above on the frescoes are the paintings, 
representing the Cock, and other emblems connected with 
jEsculapius and Mors. 

From this we went to another in the same vineyard, 
smaller, but similar in character. The frescoes here are as 
fresh as if yesterday they were painted, and the bronze 
lamp still hangs from the ceiling, just as it was left, perhaps 
two thousand years ago. The ashes of these slaves yet re, 
main, while the old heroic Scipios have been torn from their 
sepulchres and their bones scattered. 

Adjoining is a field, in which the Vestal Virgins who 
proved unfaithful to their vows were buried alive. Afler 
being scourged and stripped of her badges of office, the of- 
fender was attired like a corpse and borne through the Forum 
with all the ceremonies of a real funeral. A vault had 



192 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

been prepared under ground, with a couch, and lamp, and 
table with a little food, and to this the culprit was led by the 
Pontifex Maximus, the earth was closed over the surface, 
and she was left to her lingering death. 

We drove on to the Church of San Sebastian, erected on 
the spot where tradition says that saint suffered martyrdom. 
The Church was open, and deserted except by the beggars 
who were sunning themselves in the porch, and it was with 
some trouble that we were able to find any one to be our 
guide. An old monk, with the cord round bis waist, at length 
appeared, and in most choice Italian we signified our wish 
to descend into the Catacombs. This is one of the openings, 
and from here they have been traced (it is said) for twenty 
miles, but owing to the loss of life from persons wandering 
into them, most of the intricate passages have now been closed. 
In the Sacristy of the Church, a plan of the catacombs, as 
they extend for a few miles, was hanging up, which repre- 
sented them as being most complicated — crossing and re-cros- 
sing in every possible way. A Jesuit belonging to the Church 
of Gesu in Rome was about to publish a new engraving, 
but it was not yet completed when we left the city. The 
passages are generally ranged one above the other in three 
stories, and this renders them more intricate from the many 
stairs which ascend and descend. 

Each one of the party was furnished with a light, and 
we followed our guide down a flight of stone steps, worn by 
the feet of the multitudes who had trodden them for eighteen 
centuries past. At the bottom commenced the catacombs — 
damp, winding passages — often not more than three feet 
wide, and so low that sometimes we were obliged to stoop. 
Then again, they would expand into apartments arched over- 
head, and large enough to contain a small company. On 
each side were cavities in which were placed the bodies 
of the dead, or niches for the urns containing their ashes, 
and small apertures where lamps were found. But few 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 193 

sarcophagi were discovered here, for no pomp or cere- 
mony attended the burial of the early Christians, when their 
friends hastily laid them in these dark vaults. They sought 
not the sculptured marble to enclose their remains, but were 
contented with the rude emblems which were carved above, 
merely to show that for the body resting there, they expected 
a share in the glory of the Resurrection. Very many of 
the graves were those of children, and sometimes a whole 
family were interred together. The cavities were cut into 
the soft stone, just large enough for the body, with a semi- 
circular excavation for the head, and the opening was closed 
with a thin slab of marble. 

Most of the inscriptions have been removed to the Mu- 
seum of the Vatican, where we had already seen them. 
They are arranged there in the same gallery with those 
found in Pagan tombs, and contrast with them most strongly 
in their constant reference to a state beyond the grave, while 
on the Roman monuments are no expressions but those of 
hopeless grief. It shows how immediate was the elevating 
influence of the new creed. Nothing indeed which is gloomy 
or painful finds a place among these records of the Martyrs. 
They evidently laid the athlete of Christ to his rest, without 
any sorrow that his fight was over or any expression of ven- 
geance against those who doomed him to death. They thought 
too much of his celestial recompense to associate with it the 
tortures and evils of this lower life. The words " in pace" 
are frequently to be deciphered, and in one case I made out — 
"in pace et in f." They are covered too with symbolical 
representations. The most frequent are the well-known 
monogram of Christ, formed by the Greek letters X and P — 
the old emblem of the fish, IXQT2, the letters of which are 
composed of the initials of the Greek words, ''irjcrovg Xgiaxog 
Osov Tlog 2wTriQ, " Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour" 
— ^the ship, to represent the Church — the anchor, an emblem 
of hope — ^the stag, to show " the hart which thristeth after the 



194 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

water brooks" — ^the hare, the timid Christian hunted by per- 
secutors — the lion, the emblem of the tribe of Judah — the 
dove, indicating the simplicity, and the cock, the vigilance 
of the Christian — ^the peacock and the phoenix, emblems of 
the Resurrection — the vine — the olive branch — the palm — ,^ 
and the Lamb. Some bear the signs of martyrdom, and one 
only, a rudely sculptured view of a man devoured by wild 
beasts. 

1'hese are the simple memorials by which devotion en- 
deavored to hallow the tombs of the departed, and inscribe 
upon them the unfading hopes which live beyond the grave. 
Even the Cross itself, the primal symbol of Christianity, 
which for ages was used in its simplest form, seemed to 
convey to their minds nothing depressing or melancholy. 
They adorned it with crowns and flowers, as if rather a sign 
of all that was cheerful and inspiring. 

It is instructive to remark, that in none of these monu- 
ments of the early centuries do we see any representation of 
the Godhead, as is now so common in the Romish churches, un- 
der the figures of an old man, a young man and a dove. The 
reason has been admirably given by Milman, when he says 
— " Reverential awe, diffidence in iheir own skill, the still 
dominant sense of the purely spiritual nature of the Parental 
Deity, or perhaps the exclusive habit of dwelling upon the 
Son as the direct object of religious worship, restrained early 
Christian art from those attempts to which we are scarcely 
reconciled by the sublimity and originality of Michael An- 
gelo and Raphael. Even the symbolic representation of the 
Father was rare. Where it does appear, it is under the 
symbol of an immense hand issuing from a cloud, or a ray 
of light streaming from Heaven, to imply, it may be pre- 
sumed, the creative and all-enlightening power of the Uni- 
versal Father." The earliest instance we have of the Eter- 
nal Father represented under a human form, is contained in 
a Latin Bible — described by Montfaucon — which was pre- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 195 

sented by the Canons of the Church of Tours to Charles the 
Bold, in the year 850. So long did it take the monkish ar- 
tists of the Church to reach the present height of irreverence ! 

Neither do we find in the Roman Catacombs any repre- 
sentation of the Virgin and Child. This too was a subject 
unattempted in the early Church. And when at last they 
began thus to shadow forth their conceptions of the maternal 
tenderness of the mother for the Infant Saviour, she is always 
represented veiled. They endeavored to express the idea 
by the attitude alone, without attempting to portray the 
mingled feelings which they supposed should characterize 
the countenance of her, who with all the affections of human 
nature was chosen to be the Mother of the Lord. It was 
not we believe till the sixth century that these representa- 
tions were seen, and then as the superstitious feeling increased 
which led to the worship of the Virgin, she was more and 
more surrounded with those emblems which exalted her at 
last to adoration as the Queen of Heaven. 

The same statement is true with regard to the Cruci- 
fixion. Not a single attempt to portray it is to be seen on 
any of these ancient monuments. The early Church evi- 
dently viewed this mysterious subject with a reverence too 
deep and awful to allow its members to attempt a delinea- 
tion. There is indeed no symbol of our faith, in the use of 
which we can trace the successive steps so clearly as in 
this.* The lofty faith of the primitive Christians dwelt so 
much upon the Divinity of our Lord, that they shrank in 

* Cardinal Bona — as quoted by Milman, to whose History of 
Christianity we have been much indebted on this subject — gives the 
following as the progress of the gradual change : I. The simple Cross. 
II. The Cross with the Lamb at the foot of it. III. Christ clothed 
on the Cross, with hands uplifted in prayer, but not nailed to it. 
IV. Christ fastened to the Cross with four nails, still living, and with 
open eyes. He was not represented as dead till the tenth or eleventh 
century. 



196 THE CHEISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN KOME. 

reverence from the idea of coarsely representing the mere 
corporeal pangs which weighed Him down in the hour of His 
mortal agony. Such thoughts were reserved for the days of 
monachism, when the gloomy monks, who were the artists 
of the Church, brooded in the solitude of their cells over 
these scenes of suffering, and when they attempted to por- 
tray them, forgetting all that was tender and sublime, fur- 
nished only that which was painful and repulsive. The 
followers of St. Basil, we are told, gave the last degradation 
to this solemn subject, and spread through Western Christen- 
dom, memorials of the Passion which were only " of the 
earth, earthly." 

These Catacombs therefore furnish a valuable chapter 
for Ecclesiastical History, for we derive from them most of 
the information we have with regard to Christian symbol- 
ism. The early martyrs, by whom they were for a long 
while peopled, "being dead, still speak." They tell their 
own simple faith and devotion by the changeless emblems 
which are as expressive as words. And as we trace these 
pictured inscriptions down through successive generations, 
they unfold- to us the gradual change which crept over the 
feelings of the Church. Tt seems to present a strange con- 
trast. The respect of its members for her who was " blessed 
among women" gradually deepened into adoration, while a 
reverence for some of the most sublime mysteries of our 
faith was proportionally fading from their minds. Themes 
which at first they regarded with so sacred an awe, that 
they scarcely dared to comment on them in words, lost at 
last their divine idealism, and were coarsely shadowed forth 
by sensible objects. Thus it is, that in her own bosom, and 
in places which she consecrates as most holy. Papal Rome 
contains the evidence of that silent change which as centu- 
ries went by was working in the minds of her members. 

Our guide pointed out to us, as we passed along, some 
tombs which had never been opened, and whose inmates had 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLY DAYS IN ROME. 197 

been left to slumber on as seventeen centuries ago they 
were laid to their rest. There was one, the thin marble 
side of which had cracked, so that he could insert a small 
taper. He bid us look in, and there we saw the remains of 
the skeleton, lying as it was placed by its brethren in the 
faith in those early days of persecution and trial. In these 
gloomy caverns the followers of our Lord were then accus- 
tomed to meet, thus in secret to eat the bread of life, and 
with tears to drink the water of life. In one of these little 
Chapels which tradition has thus consecrated, there were 
found still remaining, a simple earthen altar, and an antique 
Cross set in the rock above it. It was with no ordinary feel- 
ings that we stood on this spot and looked on these evidences 
of early worship. They had remained here perhaps un- 
changed since the days of the Apostles, and where we then 
were, men may have bowed in prayer who had themselves 
seen their Lord in the flesh. The remains were around us 
of those who had received the mightiest of all consecrations, 
that of suffering, and whose spirits were as noble as any who 
had their proud monuments on the Appian Way, and whose 
names are now as " familiar in our ears as household words." 
But no historian registered the deeds of the despised Naza- 
renes. They had no poet, and they died. 

" Carent quia vate sacro." ~ 

This was to us a most interesting scene, yet one to be felt 
more than to be described. We were glad however to ascend 
the worn steps and find ourselves once more in the Church 
above. We noticed indeed that the corners we turned in 
these intricate passages were marked with white paint to 
guide us, yet a sudden current of air extinguishing our lights 
would make these signs useless, and from the crumbling 
nature of the rock there is always danger of the caving in of 
a gallery, or some other accident, which might involve a 
party in one common fate. Some years ago, we were told, 



198 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

a school of nearly thirty youth with their teacher entered 
these catacombs on a visit, and never re-appeared. Every 
search was made, but in vain. The scene which then was 
exhibited in these dark passages, and the chill which gradu- 
ally crept over their young spirits as hope yielded to despair 
could be described only by Dante, in terms in which he has 
portrayed the death of Ugolino and his sons in the Tower 
of Famine at Pisa.* 

On re-entering the Church, the old monk lighted two 
candles in a side Chapel, and with great reverence proceed- 
ed to display a host of relics, such as the blood of the mar- 
tyrs, and the arrows with which St. Sebastian was pierced. 
The most holy relic is a stone containing impressions of our 
Saviour's feet. As St. Peter was fleeing from Rome to 
avoid martyrdom — the legend tells us— ^he met our Lord 
apparently going towards it. " Domine, quo vadis ?" (Lord, 
whither goest thou ?) asked the apostle, and was answered, 
that his Master was going to suffer death again, since His 
servants deserted their post. St. Peter therefore returned 
and submitted to death, but on the place where his Lord 
stood, were found these indentations in the hard stone, and a 
Church has been erected there, called by the name, " Dom- 
ine quo vadis." Our faith however not being very strong, 
we soon turned from these wonders, and drove to our next 
stopping place — the tomb of Coecilia Metella. This is one of 
best preserved antiquities in Rome, a massive tower seventy 
feet in diameter, which Lord Byron has well described in 
the lines — 

" There is a stern round tower of other days. 
Firm as a fortress, with its fence of stone. 
Such as an army's baffled strength delays. 
Standing with half its battlements alone." 

No one indeed would take it for any thing but a fortress. 
Built of massive granite blocks, and with walls twenty-five 

* Inf. xxxiii. 21-75. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 199 

feet thick, it seems intended to defy the inroads of time and 
the strength of man. We entered the low portal, and there 
among the ruins which had fallen about, and the trailing ivy 
which hung in heavy festoons, we came to the single apart- 
ment in the centre, now open above to the sky. And yet, 
the sole treasure placed in this tower of strength, so guard- 
ed and enshrined, was — a woman's grave. By some it is 
conjectured to have been the wife of Metellus, by others, 
his daughter. Standing within the monument, we read the 
speculations of Childe Harold on this subject, which are some 
of the finest stanzas he has ever written. We cannot for 
bear copying them, although they may be familiar to many 
of our readers. 

" But who was she, the lady of the dead, 
Tomb'd in a palace 1 Was she chaste and fair ? 
Worthy a king's — or more — a Roman's bed 1 
What race of chiefs and heroes did she bear 1 
What daughter of her beauties was the heir ? 
How lived — how loved — how died she 1 Was she not 
So honor' d — and conspicuously there, 
Where meaner relics must not dare to rot. 

Placed to commemorate a more than mortal lot ! 

Perchance she died in youth : it may be, bow'd 
With woes far heavier than the ponderous tomb 
That weigh'd upon her gentle dust, a cloud 
Might gather o'er her beauty, and a gloom 
In her dark eye, prophetic of the doom 
Heaven gives its favorites — early death ; yet shed 
A sunset charm around her, and illume 
With hectic light, the Hesperus of the dead. 
Of her consuming cheek the autumnal leaf-like red. 

Perchance she died in age — surviving all. 
Charms, kindred, children — with the silver gray 
On her long tresses, which might yet recall. 
It may be, still a something of the day 



200 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROBIE. 

When they were braided, and her proud array 
And lovely form were envied, praised, and eyed 
By Rome — ^but whither would conjecture stray 1 
Thus much alone we know — Metella died. 
The wealthiest Roman's wife : behold his love or pride !" 

But all this care has proved useless. The splendid sar- 
cophagus of white marble has long since been removed from 
its little chamber so massively built up, and may be seen 
standing in the open court of the Farnese palace, exposed to 
the action of every storm. And the tomb itself has been de- 
voted to a purpose far different from that intended by the 
builder. " This" — says Sismondi — " with the tombs of 
Adrian and Augustus, became fortresses of banditti, in the 
thirteenth century, and were taken by Brancellone, the Bo- 
lognese governor of Rome, who hanged the marauders from 
the walls." 

Adjoining this " woman's grave" are the ruins of a 
fortress, which in the Middle Ages was a stronghold in sue 
cession of the Savelli and Gaetani families. Their armorial 
bearings are still to be seen upon the walls, and the round 
windows of the Chapel standing above the ruins give them 
a most picturesque appearance. In the valley beneath are 
the wide-spread remains of what is commonly called " the 
Circus of Caracalla." It is of course crumbling into decay, 
yet every part may still easily be traced. The great gate- 
way — the high raised balcony for the Emperor — the carceres 
or cells, in which the chariots stood previous to starting — 
the spina, or division through the centre, around which they 
swept in the eager contest — all can be marked. The course 
was about half a mile around and was repeated several 
times, but it is evident that the victory must have depended 
principally upon the skill of the charioteer in turning. The 
wall is now broken so that we easily sprang over it, 
and all is fast settling down to the level of the meadow. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 201 

The high vines are growing over it — ^the flowers are crushed 
beneath our feet as we walk — and no sign of life meets our 
viow, but the green lizards which sport among the ruins. 

Our last place of visit was the fountain of Egeria — a 
name which throughout the world is associated with all that 
is poetical. Twenty-five centuries have gone since Numa 
consecrated this spot, and many generations have passed 
away, yet it still continues to be a place of pilgrimage. 
Our guide led us by the remains of the old Temple of Bac- 
chus, and around the base of the hill, till suddenly the grotto 
opened before us. It is under an antique arch on which the 
hill seems to rest, and at its extremity the little spring gushes 
out, and flows over its pebbly channel as clear as crystal, 
until it is lost in the green meadow which stretches away in 
front. Around the grotto are niches which once evidently 
contained statues, but they have long since gone. One only 
— a recumbent figure, sadly mutilated — remains above the 
spot from which the stream trickles out. Juvenal objected 
in his day to the marble ornaments and the art which had 
spoiled the grotto, declaring that the Goddess would be much 
more honored if the fountain was enclosed only with its 
border of living green — 



" viridi si margine clauderet undas 



Herba." 

But time has at length wrought the change which he de- 
sired. The stones of the old chamber are clothed with moss 
and evergreens — the Adiantum Capillus waves over the 
fountain — while from the roof hang down long wreaths of 
creeping plants till they obscure the entrance, and diffuse a 
twilight gloom within. And when, standing before this little 
shrine, we look around, we see on the one side the thick 
grove, dark with shade, in which Numa is said to have met 
the Goddess, and on the other the sweeping arches of the 
Claudian aqueduct, with the purple hills for their back 



202 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ground, extending far along the scene. They stretch over 
the wide Campagna, till they reach the spot where once 
stood the vanished palaces of Meecenas and Domitian, and 
we lose sight of them among the distant mountains of Alba- 
no. Altogether, this is as poetical a spot as the earth can 
furnish, nor could one be found more lovely even among the 
Grecian solitudes which Theocritus so beautifully describes. 
The Dryad and Nymph have indeed gone for ever, yet, fable 
or not, we cannot help feeling, as we think of the legend — 

" whatsoe'er thy birth. 



Thou wert a beautiful thought, and softly bodied forth," 



THE CARDINALS. — INTERVIEW WITH CARDI- 
NAL MEZZOFANTI. 



CHAPTER XV. 

While the visitor is wandering among the ruins of Rome, 
he will sometimes be roused from his reveries by the ap- 
proach of a splendid carriage, flaming with scarlet and gold, 
and three footmen in gorgeous liveries clustering on behind, 
all contrasting strangely with the time-worn relics of former 
ages and the filth and wretchedness of the modern city. 
That is the equipage of a Cardinal. Within sits an old 
man, dressed also in scarlet. That is his Eminence. 

For centuries the College of the Cardinals has been in many 
respects the most powerful legislative body in Europe, and 
the highest object of Ecclesiastical ambition. The sons of 
the first monarchs considered the dignity a prize worthy of 
their aim, and the Pope could often win 4he sovereign him- 
self to his views by the bribe of a Cardinal's hat for one of 
his family. Reginald Pole, the last of the powerful race of 
the Plantagenets and one of the gentlest and holiest of men, 
was a Cardinal, and since his death, no ecclesiastic of that 
rank has ever resided at the Court of England. He was ill 
of the same fever as his royal cousin Queen Mary, and in 
their last hours constant messages were passing between 
them. When she expired, forseeing the ruin of his faith, he 
expressed his satisfaction at the prospect of speedy dissolu- 
tion, which actually took place in a few hours. He died — 
it has been beautifully said — " as if by a mysterious instinct, 
in the very last night whose moon shone upon the rich tillage 

10 



206 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN EOME. 

lands and dusky woodland chases of Catholic England, still, 
for one night still, a portion of the Roman Obedience."* 
The last of the exiled Stuarts also died at Rome in the same 
office, under the title of Cardinal York. 

The Cardinals are seventy in number, this being the 
limit fixed by Sextus V. in allusion to " the seventy disciples 
of our Lord." The College hov^^ever is seldom full, as some 
appointments are kept in reserve to meet emergencies. They 
are the Princes of the Church, and are divided into three 
ranks, — 1. Six Cardinal Bishops; 2. Fifty Cardinal Priests ; 
3. Fourteen Cardinal Deacons. The dignity has however 
now been thrown open to laymen, and the Governor of Rome, 
who is recognized so often in the streets by his violet stockings 
and short black silk cloak, usually receives a Cardinal's hat 
at the expiration of his term of office. They meet occasion- 
ally as the Consistory, sitting in the full dignity of the purple 
with the Pontiff presiding in person. This however is a 
mere matter of form to receive Foreign Ambassadors, or to 
add to the splendor of the Court. Their chief Prerogative is 
when they meet in Conclave to elect a Pope. This is a power 
which they gained in the eleventh century under Nicholas 
II., when a Council conferred on them the exclusive right of 
voting at Papal elections, thus setting aside the ancient 
privilege of the Roman clergy and people to nominate their 
Bishop. Hildebrand — afterwards Gregory VII. — was then 
Cardinal-Archdeacon of Rome, the great minister of the 
Pope's reign, and director of all his measures, and this was 
one of the steps which he had proposed to increase the power 
of the Papacy. The voice was indeed the voice of Nicholas, 
but the hand was the hand of Hildebrand. For nine days 
after the Pontiff's death the Cardinal Chamberlain exercises 
supreme authority, and even has the right to coin money in 
his own name and impressed with his own arms. From the 

* Rev. F. W. Faber. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 207 

shortness of time tlrese pieces are necessarily scarce. One 
of them, however, issued on the death of Pius VII., came into 
my hands, while in Rome. It bears the arms, surmounted 
by a Cardinal's hat, and around them the inscription — sede 
VACANTE MDCCcxxiii. On the ninth day the funeral of the 
deceased Pope takes place, and on the ensuing day the Car- 
dinals meet in secret Conclave to elect his successor. There 
they remain immured in one of the great Halls of the Vati- 
can till they can agree in the choice ; the Senator of Rome, 
the Patriarchs and Bishops who are in the city, guarding the 
different entrances to the Conclave to prevent all influence 
and intrigue. The qualifications of a candidate are, that he 
shall be fifty-five years of age, a Cardinal, and an Italian by 
birth. It requires a vote of two-thirds, and then France, 
Austria, and Spain have each the power of putting a veto on 
one candidate. As might be expected, all the power of the 
government is in the hands of the Cardinals, and they divide 
most of its oflices among themselves. Each one has also a 
salary, in addition to the emolument derived from his post. 

At present, the Sacred College consists of fifty-five mem- 
bers — two named by Pius VII., seven by Leo XII., forty-six 
by Gregory XVI. The Dean of the College is Cardinal 
Padini, eighty-seven years of age. Scwartzenburg is the 
youngest of the Cardinals, being scarcely thirty-six. Sixty- 
two Cardinals have died since the accession of Gregory 
XVI. 

The person I most wished to see in Rome — I may almost 
say in Europe — was Cardinal Mezzofanti, for his name is 
known through the world as one of the literary prodigies of 
the age. The son of an humble tradesman, he commenced 
his early career as a librarian. His birth-place — as he 
mentioned to me himself — was Bologna. When an obscure 
priest in the north of Italy, he was called upon to confess some 
criminals who were to suffer death next day. They proved 
to be foreigners condemned for piracy, and he found himself 



208 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

utterly unable to hold any intercourse with them. Over- 
whelmed with grief at this unlooked for impediment, he re- 
tired to his home, spent the night in studying their language, 
and the next morning confessed them " in their own tongue 
wherein they were born." Such at least is the common 
story told here, and his friends ascribe his success to miracu- 
lous assistance which was afforded him as a reward for his 
zeal in the discharge of his holy office. 

From that time his talent was rapidly developed. His 
knowledge of languages seems to be almost intuitive, for he 
acquires them without the least apparent difficulty. At the 
age of thirty-six, he is said to have read twenty, and to have 
conversed fluently in eighteen languages. At the present 
time he speaks forty-two, or, as he sometimes sportively says 
— " forty-two, and Bolognese" — considering his native lan- 
guage so curious a dialect of the Italian, that he might count 
it as one. He at one time filled the chair of Professor of 
Greek and Oriental Literature in the University of his na- 
tive city, and his fame even then was widely spread through 
Europe. When the revolt broke out in 1831, and Bologna 
for a time threw off the Papal rule, Mezzofanti exerted him- 
self so earnestly in behalf of the Pope, that he was soon 
afterwards called to Rome and rewarded with an appoint- 
ment under Mai. When that distinguished scholar was 
made a Cardinal, Mezzofanti was raised to the same dignity. 
Perhaps the most lively account of him is that given 
by Lord Byron in his Detached Thoughts. "I do not 
recollect" — says he — " a single foreign literary character 
that I wished to see twice, except perhaps Mezzofanti, who 
was a prodigy of language, a Briareus of the parts of Speech, 
a walking library, who ought to have lived at the time of 
the tower of Babel, as universal interpreter ; a real miracle, 
and without pretension too. I tried him in all the languages 
of which I knew only an oath or adjuration of the gods 
against postillions, savages, pirates, boatmen, sailors, pilots, 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROBIE. 209 

gondoliers, muleteers, camel drivers, vetturini, post-masters, 
horses and houses, and every thing in post ! and, he puzzled 
me in my own idiom." 

And yet, with all these high qualifications, there is a 
modesty about Cardinal Mezzofanti, which shrinks from any 
thing like praise. When complimented on the subject of his 
acquirements, he sometimes answers — " Do not mention it : 
I am only a dictionary badly bound." A Russian princess 
a short time ago, having occasion to send him a note, he re- 
plied at once in her own language, and in terms so perfectly 
correct and idiomatic, that she could not help responding, 
complimenting him on the manner in which he wrote 
Russian. He immediately answered it, stating "that he was 
sorry he could not return the compliment, as to the manner 
in which she wrote Russian." 

I had a letter of introduction to him, and the very last 
morning I was in Rome, feeling that I should not be satisfied 
to depart w^ithout seeing him, I determined to present it. 
Upon calling at his palace, I found several servants in the 
anteroom, to one of whom I gave my letter and card. He 
entered with them, and in a moment the Cardinal's secretary 
came out to conduct me to him. After passing through a 
long suite of rooms, I was ushered into one where I found 
his Eminence, who, advancing very cordially, invited me to 
walk into his library. He is a small, lively looking man, 
apparently over seventy. He speaks English with a slight 
foreign accent, yet remarkably correct. Indeed, I never 
before met with a foreigner who could talk for ten minutes 
without using some word with a shade of meaning not exactly 
right, yet in the long conversation I had with the Cardinal, 
I detected nothing like this. He did not use a single ex- 
pression or word in any way which was not strictly and 
idiomatically correct.* He converses too without the slight* 

* An American gentleman who has known him for many years, told 
rae he called on him when he was Censor of the Press at Bologna, in 



210 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

est hesitation, never being at the least loss for the proper 
phrase. 

In talking about him some time before to an ecclesiastic, 
I quoted Lady Blessington's remark — " that she did not be- 
lieve he had made much progress in the literature of those 
forty-two languages, but was rather like a man who spent 
his time in manufacturing keys to palaces, which he had not 
time to enter" — and I inquired whether this was true. " Try 
him" — said he, laughing ; and having now the opportunity, 
I endeavored to do so. I led him therefore to talk of Lord 
Byron and his works, and then of English literature gene- 
rally. He gave me, in the course of his conversation, quite 
a discussion on the question. Which was the golden period 
of the English language ? and of course fixed on the days 
of Addison. He drew a comparison between the character- 
istics of the French, Italian and Spanish languages — spoke 
of Lockhart's translations from the Spanish — and incidentally 
referred to various other English writers. He then went on 
to speak of American literature, and paid high compliments 
to the pure style of some of our best writers. He expressed 
the opinion that with many it had been evidently formed by 
a careful study of the old authors — those " wells of English 
undefiled" — and that in the last fifty years we had imported 
fewer foreign words than had been done in England. He 
spoke very warmly of the works of Mr. Fennimore Cooper, 
whose name, by the way, is better known on the continent 
than that of any other American writer. 

In referring to our Indian languages, he remarked that 
the only one with which he was well acquainted was the 

company with an English naval captain, some of whose books, being on 
the prohibited list, had been seized at the Custom House. The captain 
was in a towering rage, and Mezzofantiin the course'of his explanations, 
made use of the expression — " I enter into your feelings." Nine foreign- 
ers out of ten, in attempting to convey this idea, would have been just as 
likely to say — " I walk into your feelings." 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 211 

Algonquin, although he knew something of the Chippewa 
and the Delaware, and asked whether I understood Al- 
gonquin ? I instantly disowned any knowledge of the lite- 
rature of that respectable tribe of savages, for I was afraid 
the next thing would be a proposal, that we should continue 
the conversation in their mellifluous tongue. He learned it 
from an Algonquin missionary, who returned to Rome, and 
lived just long enough to enable the Cardinal to begin the 
study. He had read the works of Mr. Duponceau of Phil- 
adelphia on the subject of Indian languages and spoke very 
highly of them. 

And yet, all this conversation by no means satisfied me 
as to the depth of the Cardinal's literary acquirements. 
There was nothing said which gave evidence of more than 
a superficial acquaintance with English literature — the kind 
of knowledge which passes current in society, and which is 
necessarily picked up by one who meets so often with culti 
vated people of that country. His acquirements in words 
are certainly wonderful, but I could not help asking myself 
their use. I have never yet heard of their being of any prac- 
tical benefit to the world, during the long life of their pos- 
sessor. He has never displayed any thing philosophical in 
his character of mind, none of that power of combination 
which enables Schlegel to excel in all questions of philology, 
and gives him a talent for discriminating and a power of 
handling the resources of a language, which have never 
been surpassed. With Mezzofanti, on the contrary, every, 
thing seems to be in detail, and therefore he turns it to no 
valuable purpose. 

After having made a visit which far exceeded what the 
bounds of etiquette would allow, I felt obliged to rise, with 
the apology, " That I had already intruded too long upon the 
time of his Eminence ;" but he assured me, " This was not 
the case — and that he only regretted, as I was about to leave 
Rome immediately, our first interview was necessarily our 



212 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

last." He inquired the ages of my children, and said — " In 
five or six years they will be old enough to visit Italy, and 
then I trust you will return to Rome, but" — and his voice 
changed — " you will not find me here : I am too old to hope 
for it." When I left the library, he insisted on accompa- 
nying me through the long suite of rooms to the last, in which 
was his secretary — and gave me his parting blessing, with 
the wish, " that I might have a pleasant journey to Naples." 
When half way across the apartment, I heard his voice, and 
turning round, saw him still standing in the threshold, stretch- 
ing out his hands to me, and adding to his last sentence— 
" and a pleasant voyage home afterwards." 

' In the narrow compass of this chapter, I can give but a 
few of the points on which he touched in our long conversa- 
tion — matters of faith relating to his Church — information 
about the Propaganda, Cardinals Weld and Acton, and Bish- 
op Wiseman — inquiries about the attention to Greek and 
Latin in our colleges — and questions about the progress of 
his Church in America. Still less can I give any idea on 
paper, of the simplicity and kindness of manner which so 
much charmed me, in one whose reputation is unequalled in 
the world, and who seems so little affected by the princely 
dignity of the Cardinal with which he has been invested. - 
We parted, never probably to see each other again in this 
world, yet long shall I remember the old Cardinal's friendly 
smile, and I trust we may meet again in that better land 
where all differences are forgotten, and our Father welcomes 
as His children all those who loved Him in sincerity and 
truth, while toiling onward through the shadows of this 
lower life. 



THE PROTESTANT BURIAL GROUND, 



10* 



CHAPTER XVI. 

There are few spots in Rome which the stranger will 
naturally visit with so much interest as the Protestant Burial 
Ground. At a distance from his own home, he knows not 
but that the hand of death may here arrest him, and should 
this be the case, within these walls he must find his resting- 
place. But wherever he might wander through the wide 
world, he could not find a more lovely spot in which to lie 
down for his long, last sleep. 

We rode out to it on one of those bright and balmy days 
which in an Italian atmosphere remind us of the first warm 
days of our own Spring. Just by the Porta San Paolo rises a 
lofty pyramid, one hundred and twenty feet in height, built of 
slabs of white Carrara marble, but now perfectly black with 
age. It is the noble sepulchre of Caius Cestius, erected in 
accordance with the directions of his will in the age of Au- 
gustus. It is of solid masonry, except the little chamber 
within, which once contained his sarcophagus. There was 
nothing about it which the hand of violence could rifle — 
nothing to tempt cupidity — no statues or carvings which 
could be removed to the Museums — -and therefore it has been 
permitted to remain uninjured. Its very form — adopted by 
the ancients in imitation of the flames that rose from the 
funeral pyres — was well calculated to resist the influence 
of the weather. In the days of Aurelian it was built into 
the city walls, to prevent its being used as a fortress by any 



216 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

attacking enemy, and this aided in securing its preservation. 
Except therefore in the change of color, and in the ivy 
which has trailed around it and forced its roots into the crev- 
ices of the stones, it is but little altered from what it appeared 
eighteen centuries ago. Beneath it is the burial ground 
on the slope of the hill, looking towards " the Eternal City," 
and in the direction of the East, so that the sun's first rays 
rest upon it, and there they spread their warmth, till the 
dreariness of winter is unknown on this hallowed spot. 
There are a hundred graves scattered among the trees, and 
the huge pyramid towers over them as if in mockery of the 
humble monuments on which it looks down. 

In the very atmosphere of Rome there is something which 
induces pensiveness. It is a characteristic indeed of these 
southern climes. The calmness of the air is unbroken by 
the lightest zephyr — the blades of grass are motionless — 
the leaves rustle not — and there seems to be a deep sleep 
resting on every thing. You are insensibly led to musing, 
and we felt this influence when we stood in silence among 
these graves. At a distance we saw those grand and solemn 
ruins which centuries had bequeathed to us, while around 
were the monuments of those who were ali gathered from other 
lands, not one of whom but was mingling his dust with the 
soil of a country which was not his. We read the inscrip- 
tions, and they appealed to us in our language, through its 
medium claiming with us a nearer brotherhood than with 
the strangers who dwelt around. And even the tomb of 
Cestius, that old majestic pile, has something also in common 
with the sleepers there. " It is itself" — says Rogers — " a 
stranger. It has stood there till the language spoken about 
it has changed ; and the shepherd born at its foot, can read 
its inscription no longer." 

There are two enclosures for this cemetery. We entered 
the first, and were struck at once with its air of romantic 
beauty. It is formed in terraces which mount up, one above 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 217 

the other, to the tomb of the old Roman, and the massive 
walls and battlements of the ancient city. The walks were 
lined with flowers, which in this "divinest climate" — as 
Shelley called it — spring up of themselves, and odoriferous 
shrubs which fill the air with their rich perfume. It seems 
as if the grave was robbed of half its gloominess, when we 
know that the balmy airs of spring will be thus ever breathed 
about us, and its rich drapery cover our sepulchres. Very 
many of these tombs are those of Germans, and among them 
one particularly beautiful, of an artist, having carved upon 
it in bas-relief, his brush and pallet wreathed with poppies. 
We were surprised to see how few of the English were 
buried here, when so many come abroad for health, and 
often end their days in this city. Most of those who are 
interred in this spot for a time, are finally removed to their 
own country, for there is no nation among whom there still 
lingers so much of that old desire to mingle their dust with 
that of the friends they have known and loved, and which 
made the ancient patriarch bequeath to his son the direc- 
tion — " I will lie with my fathers ; bury me in their burying 
place." Among all the forms indeed of oriental benediction, 
there is none more expressive than the wish — " May you 
die among your kindred !" 

On the highest terrace we found the grave of an Ameri- 
can, Edward Abeel, of New York. Half way up the gentle 
declivity are the monuments of several more of our country- 
men, Mr. John Hone, and William Henry Elliot, both of 
New-York, and young Deveaux, of Charleston, South Caro- 
lina. On the tomb of the latter, who was one of the most 
promising artists we had in Italy, was a striking bas-relief 
portrait executed by his friend and countryman, Brown, in 
whose studio I had also seen a most admirable bust. The 
fate of this young man was a melancholy one, sacrificed as 
he was to the jealous police regulations of the country. 
Travelling in Upper Italy, he reached Bologna, where some 



218 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

late disturbances had made the authorities peculiarly vigi- 
lant. There being some trifling informality about his pass- 
port, it was thrown back to him, and he was ordered at once 
to quit the city. The day was closing, but he was obliged 
to hire the first vehicle he could procure, and leaving his 
baggage behind him, ride all night. He skirted the Apen- 
nines, and avoiding the larger towns, managed to pass 
through the country and at length in some way get into 
Rome. The first night, however, a storm came on — the 
wagon was an open one — and being without any change of 
clothes, he was obliged to remain in that state for several 
days. The consequence was, a cold which fastened on his 
lungs, and after lingering some months, he died at Rome 
in April last. During his illness every possible attempt 
was made to attach him to the Church of Rome. The Rev. 
Pierce Conelley, once a clergyman of the Episcopal Church 
in the United States, but who some years ago abjured the 
true Catholic faith, was unceasing in his attentions. An 
English lady also, another proselyte, was exceedingly busy 
in her efforts. Among other schemes which she proposed 
in her mistaken benevolence was, that 11 Santissimo Bam- 
hino — the little image in the Church of Ara Coeli, which we 
have described in a former chapter — should be brought to 
his sick room and laid upon the bed. She certified that in 
the case of a friend in the last stage of consumption, this 
process had produced an entire restoration to health. But 
poor Deveaux had not faith enough. He could not forget 
the truer teachings of his youth and the lessons he had 
learned in his distant home. His nurse put a consecrated 
medal under his pillow, but he had so little trust in the 
promised cure it was to produce, that he presented it to a 
friend who happened to visit him. 

There were better instructions however at hand, and he 
was not destined to die without having his last hours cheered 
by the pure truths of the Gospel. Providentially, he had 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 219 

become acquainted with a clergyman of our Church from his 
own land,* who became deeply interested in his situation, 
visited him often, and before his death administered to him 
the Holy Communion. 

The most beautiful monument in the cemetery is that 
erected to the memory of Miss Bathurst, whose melancholy 
end produced so strong a sensation some years ago. Her 
father, a short time before, while engaged in some diploma- 
tic mission in Austria, had suddenly disappeared, and his 
fate was never known. The daughter, a beautiful and 
accomplished girl, was riding on the banks of the Tiber with 
her uncle, Lord Aylmer, and the Duke de Lavel Montmo- 
renci, when attempting to turn her horse, he backed into the 
river and she was swept away by the current. The groom, 
who alone could swim, had just been sent back on some 
errand, and her friends were forced to see her sink without 
the power of rescuing her. Several months elapsed before 
her body could be recovered and laid to its rest in this sweet 
spot. On her tomb is sculptured a beautiful representation, 
(executed by Westmacott,) of an angel receiving her from 
the waves. 

As we passed along we had looked in vain for the grave of 
Shelley, and were at last obliged to ask the custode. He led 
us to the very top of the terrace, and there, close under the 
old wall, is a flat slab which marks the resting place of this 
gifted yet unfortunate poet. It bears the inscription — " Percy 
Bysshe Shelley, Cor Cordium, Natus IV. Aug. MDCCXCII, 
obiit viii. Jul. MDCCCXXII. 

Nothing of him that doth fade 
But doth suffer a sea change 
Into something rich and strange." 

His tombstone lies low upon the ground — the wild-flowers 

* Rev. Henry L. Storrs, Rector of St. John's Church, Yonkers, West- 
chester county, New- York. 



220 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

cluster around — and the tall grass waves above it, so that we 
had to put them one side to read the Epitaph. We stood by 
it for a few moments, and thought of his strange eventful his- 
tory — his brilliant talents — his high-souled, lofty honor — all 
ruined and rendered useless by that fearful perversion of 
principle, which left him without chart or compass to guide 
him on life's stormy sea. Then came back to remembrance 
— ^though years have passed since we read it— the strange 
account which Trelawney has given of the burning of poor 
Shelley's remains in the Gulf of Spezzia, when he and Lord 
Byron reared the funeral pile, which as far as circumstances 
would allow, was conformed to the customs of antiquity. 
Frankincense and wine were poured upon the wood, and for 
leagues around the extraordinary beauty of the flame was 
noticed, as it shot high into the air, illuminating the night. 
And when it had gone down, the friends who watched found 
that all had been reduced to ashes but the heart alone, on 
which the fire seemed to have no power. We looked around, 
and at a distance towered high the massive ruins of the Baths 
of Caracalla, among which he was accustomed to wander 
when writing his "Prometheus Unbound," a work so lofty in 
its tone — so penetrated with the spirit of the old Grecian 
tragedies — that, widely different as we know it to be in plot, ' 
it still seems almost to compensate us for the lost drama of 
^schylus, the name of which it has borrowed. 

Are there such things as presentiments, when the spirit 
reaches forward into the shadowy future, and the affections 
in anticipation gather around scenes in which one day they 
are to have a deeper interest ? It seems to have been the 
case with Shelley, as he loved to linger about this spot, and 
so often recorded his admiration of what was to be his final 
resting-place. When he first visited Rome, he spoke of it 
as "the most beautiful and solemn cemetery he ever be- 
held," — and adds — "To seethe sun shining on its bright 
grass, fresh, when we first saw it, with the autumnal dews. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 221 

and hear the whispering of the wind among the leaves of 
the trees which have overgrown the tomb of Cestius, and the 
soil which is stirring in the sun-warm eartli, and to mark 
the tombs, mostly of women and young people who were 
buried there, one might, if one were to die, desire the sleep 
they seem to sleep." About a year before his own death, 
the place had acquired an additional interest in his eyes, for 
there his friend Keats rested, "after life's fitful fever." Tn 
his lament over him, Shelley says — 

" Go thou to Rome, — at once the Paradise, 

The grave, the city, and the wilderness ; 

And where its wrecks like shatter'd mountains rise, 

And flowering weeds, and fragrant copses, dress 

The bones of Desolation's nakedness. 

Pass, till the Spirit of the spot shall lead 

Thy footsteps to a slope of green access, 

Where, like an infant's smile over the dead, 
A light of laughing flowers along the grass is spread. 

And gray walls moulder round, on which dull Time 
Feeds, like slow fire upon a hoary brand ; 
And one keen pyramid with wedge sublime, 
Pavilioning the dust of him who plann'd 
This refuge for his memory, doth stand s 

Like flame transform'd to marble ; and beneath, 
A field is spread, on which a newer band 
Have pitch'd in Heaven's smile their camp of death. 
Welcoming him we lose with scarce extinguish'd breath. 

Here pause : these graves are all too young as yet 
To have outgrown the sorrows which consign'd 
Its charge to each." 

And then, as if the shadows of the grave he was ap- 
proaching already rested on his spirit, he adds — 

" From the world's bitter wind 
Seek shelter in the shadow of the tomb. 
What Adonais is, why fear we to become 1 



222 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 



Die, 



If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek ! 
Follow where all is fled ! — Rome's azure sky, 
Flowers, ruins, statues, music, words are weak 
The glory they transfuse with fitting truth to speak. 

Why linger, why turn back, why shrink, my heart 1 
Thy hopes are gone before : from all things here 
They have departed ; thou shouldst now depart I 
A light is pass'd from the revolving year. 
And man, and woman ; and what still is dear 
Attracts to crush, repels to make thee wither. 
The soft sky smiles — the low wind whispers near ; 
'Tis Adonais calls ! oh, hasten hither, 
No more let Life divide what Death can join together." 

Near this declivity is another enclosure, not as beautiful- 
ly situated as the first, but only a few yards distant. The 
grave of Keats is near the entrance. His monument is of 
white marble, bearing a lyre in hasso relievo, and under it 
this inscription — 

This grave 

contains all that was mortal 

of a 

YOUNG ENGLISH POET, 

who, 

on his death bed 

in the bitterness of his heart 

at the malicious power of his enemies, 

desired 

these words to be engraven on his tombstone — 

HERE LIES ONE 
WHOSE NAME WAS WRIT IN WATER. 

Feb. 24th, 1821. 

Poor Keats ! his history is the most melancholy one written 
in the annals of literature. The early promise was most 
brilliant ; but he was poor and friendless, and as his opinions 
differed from those of the Quarterly, on the publication of his 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 223 

"Endymion," the editor, Gifford, attacked him with all the 
savage bitterness in his power, pouring out his malice on 
the unoffending victim, because he knew the object of his 
cruelty could not retaliate. Having naturally a feeble con- 
stitution and a mind keenly sensitive, the blow seemed to crush 
him, and he told a friend with tears that " his heart was 
breaking." He was persuaded to try the mild air of Italy, but 
he went there only to die. Some time before that event took 
place, he perceived its approach, and remarked that he "felt 
the flowers growing over him." We feel, when we think of 
his story, that Shelley's address to Gifford, in the Preface to 
Adonais, is not one whit too severe — " Miserable man ! you, 
one of the meanest, have wantonly defaced one of the noblest 
specimens of the workmanship of God. Nor shall it be your 
excuse, that, murderer as you are, you have spoken daggers, 
but used none." 

But Keats will never be forgotten while the English lan- 
guage exists. He was indeed, like Koerner of Germany, cut 
off too early to show any maturity of power, but "Endy- 
mion," and "Lamia," and "Isabella," are rich in gems of 
thought, and display on every page the wealth of genius. 
Shelley's splendid Dirge would alone be sufficient to preserve 
his memory, and the estimate he formed of his brother poet 
may be gathered from those noble stanzas, in which, in imita- 
tion of a sublime scene in the prophet Isaiah, he represents 
the gifted of other days rising to greet the spirit of the youth - 
ful bard — 

" The inheritors of unfulfill'd renown 

Rose from their thrones built beyond mortal thought. 

Far in the Unapparent, Chatterton 

Rose pale, his solemn agony had not 

Yet faded from him ; Sidney, as he fought 

And as he fell, and as he lived and loved, 

Sublimely mild, a spirit without spot. 

Arose ; and Lucan, by his death approved ; 
Oblivion as they rose shrank like a thing reproved. 



224 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

And many more, whose names on earth are dark. 
But whose transmitted effluence cannot die 
So long as fire outlives the parent spark. 
Rose, robed in dazzling immortality. 
' Thou art become as one of us/ they cry, 
' It was for thee yon kingless sphere has long 
Swung blind in unascended majesty. 
Silent alone amid a Heaven of song : 
Assume thy winged throne, thou Vesper of our throng !'" 

Near the grave of Keats is that of Dr. Bell, whose obser- 
vations on the Fine x\rts in Italy have long been a text-book 
for all who visit that country ; and also the monument of the 
Rev. Augustus Wm. Hare of Oxford, whose volume of ser- 
mons published since his death, has rendered his name well 
known to Churchmen in America as well as in England. 
He seems to have ended his life in the place where it was 
begun, having been born — the inscription tells us — in Rome 
in 1792, and having died there in 1834. There is but one 
American buried here — Mr. Daniel Remsen of New York. 

We lingered in this lovely place until the increasing 
dampness, showing that the dews of evening were falling, 
warned us to return home. The sun had begun to sink in 
the west, and the massive tomb of Cestius threw its broad, 
shadow over the burying ground, as we turned away from 
it. How many hearts in distant lands are sorrowing for 
those who are so quietly sleeping here ! Beautiful spot ! 
which never knows the chill of winter, and where Nature 
herself is ever wreathing with living flowers the graves of 
those whose homes and friends are far away, well may the 
heart yearn towards thee, and the living feel, that thus they 
should like to rest! 



THE PALACES OF ROME. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The palaces of Rome may well be illustrated by the 
same comparison which Faber uses with regard to those of 
Genoa — " Old pages of history torn from some illuminated 
manuscript of the Middle Ages, and whereon the illumina- 
tions are well nigh faded or effaced, by time and violence." 
Historically many of them are interesting, bearing the names 
of the noblest families of mediseval days, by whose descend- 
ants they are still occupied. Others remind us only of the 
nepotism of the Popes, whose first care sometimes was to 
ennoble their nephews, and then their short reigns were spent 
in building up the power of these newly risen houses, at the 
expense of the Church and country. And when in addition 
to this, we find some of them, like the Farnese, erecting 
their palaces by despoiling the Coliseum and other monu- 
ments of ancient Rome, we cannot look without indignation 
on the sacrilege of these upstart princes. 

The only palaces — if we except the modern ones of the 
Torlonia family — which are kept up with any degree of 
splendor, are those of the Doria and Borghese. For the 
general appearance of the rest, one description will answer. 
You find a vast pile of buildings, often running round the 
four sides of a square, with the quadrangle in the centre sur- 
rounded by a marble colonnade. Entering the large arched 
gateway, some old servitors are lounging about, bearing in 
their appearance evidences of their master's dilapidated for- 



228 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

tunes. One of them takes you in charge and commences 
the ordinary routine of sight-seeing. You first enter an im- 
mense Hall, often hung round with the largest and worst 
pictures of the palace, and on one side a throne with a high 
velvet canopy, covered with the armorial bearings of the 
family. From this elevated seat, until feudal privileges 
were abolished, the prince was accustomed to administer 
justice. You follow your guide on, up marble stair-cases, 
and over mosaic floors, till you come to long suites of rooms, 
the walls covered with paintings, while here and there antique 
statues are dispersed about, and richly inlaid cabinets stand 
against the sides. Through these you wander, gazing on 
the works of art, until yoii have gone round the square, and 
find yourself in the Hall from which you set out. 

It would be useless to attempt describing many of these 
collections, for while a catalogue of paintings might recall 
to my mind the beautiful forms on which I have gazed hour 
after hour, it could awaken no corresponding feeling in the 
mind of the reader. Some of them are celebrated for one 
or two remarkable pictures, while the rest of the collection 
is made up of inferior ones and old family portraits. Such 
is the Palazzo Rospigliosi, where in the Cassino of the Gar- 
den is the far-famed Aurora by Guido, so many copies of 
which have been brought to our own country. It is a large 
fresco on the ceiling. Around the chariot of the Sun are 
seen female figures advancing most gracefully hand in hand, 
to typify the Hours. They are decked in gay and flowing 
drapery — " pictis incinctee vestibus Horse" — while before 
them is Aurora, scattering flowers. It is called Guide's 
most brilliant performance, and certainly nothing could 
exceed the glory he has spread around the chariot of 
the God of oeay, combining in one matchless performance, 
all the beautiful features in which the poets have arrayed 
the Morning. In the Villa Lodovisi, which is without the 
city walls, occupying a part of Sallust's gardens, is the rival 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 229 

picture, the Aurora of Guercino. The Goddess is in her 
car drawn by fiery horses, while the shades of Night appear 
to be vanishing at her approach. Tithon, whose couch 
she had just quitted, is seen half-awake, while the Morning 
Star, as a winged Genius bearing a torch, is following her 
course. The Hours, unlike those of Guide, are represented 
as infants, fluttering before her and extinguishing the stars 
— an idea perhaps borrowed from Statins, who describes 
Aurora as chasing the stars before her with her whip — 

" Moto leviter fugat astra flagello." 

In the other compartments are Daybreak, represented as 
a youth with a torch in one hand and flowers in the other — 
Evening, a young female sleeping — and Night, personified 
as an aged woman poring over a book. The first rays of 
light seem just penetrating into her gloomy abode, scaring 
her companions, the owl and the bat, who are shrinking from 
the unwelcome intrusion. 

In the Palazzo Spada, the great attraction is the colossal 
statue of Pompey, nine feet high. For three centuries it 
has been asserted to be the one " at whose base great 
Csesar fell," and notwithstanding the discussion of critics 
has retained its name and authority. It was certainly found 
buried on the spot where we are told Augustus had it placed, 
before the Theatre of Pompey. The statue holds a globe in its ' 
hand, an emblem of power, which seems hardly in republican 
taste, and rather brings it down to the days of the Empire. 
The answer to this is, that it was only a well-merited com- 
pliment to him who found Asia Minor the boundary, and left 
it the centre of the Roman Empire. Could we believe this 
view it would certainly be with no ordinary interest that we 
stand at its pedestal. We should call back eighteen centu- 
ries as we gaze upon the lineaments of him, who was second 
to Rome's great Master, in fortune only, remembering that 
tragedy in the Senate House, when in the retributions of Ne- 
ll 



230 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN EOME. 

mesis, that rival was prostrated at the base of this stern 
looking statue, bathing it with his blood. 

Gibbon describes the manner in which this relic of an- 
tiquity was found in digging the foundations of a house. 
When first discovered, the head was under one building and 
the body under another. The two owners therefore quar- 
relled, and were on the point of dividing the statue — thus 
rivalling the judgment of Solomon — when Julius III. inter- 
posed, and gave them five hundred crowns which they thank- 
fully received, as being susceptible of a more easy partition. 
This antique figure has since then made one appearance in 
public. When the French held Rome, they determined to 
have Voltaire's tragedy of Brutus performed in the Coliseum, 
and to give it greater effect decided that their Caesar, like the 
original Dictator, should fall at the base of this statue. It 
was accordingly transported to the place of exhibition, 
although in so doing they were obliged temporarily to de- 
prive it of the right arm. 

One of the largest collections of paintings is found in the 
Palazzo Borgliese. Among them is the Cumsean Sibyl of 
Domenichino, so familiar through copies dispersed every 
where, though no copy can give the beauty of the original. 
Nameless and by an unknown artist, this picture would any 
where arrest attention. We look upon it however with a 
new association of interest, since Bulwer has adopted it as the 
portrait of the high-souled Nina di Raselli, and in his own 
fascinating language, thus added the description — " Why 
this is called the Cumsean Sibyl I know not, save that it has 
something strange and unearthly in the dark beauty of the 
eyes. I beseech thee, mistake not this sibyl for another, for 
Roman galleries abound in sibyls. The sibyl I speak of is 
dark, and the face has an Eastern cast ; the robe and turban, 
gorgeous though they be, grow dim before the rich but 
transparent roses of the cheek ; the hair would be black, 
save for that golden glow which mellows it to a hue and lustre 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 231 

never seen but in the South, and even in the South most 
rare ; the features, not Grecian, are yet faultless ; the mouth, 
the brow, the ripe and exquisite contour, all are human and 
voluptuous ; the expression, the aspect, is something more ; 
the form is perhaps too full for the ideal of loveliness, for 
the proportions of sculpture, for the delicacy of Athenian 
models ; but the luxuriant fault has a majesty. Gaze long 
upon that picture : it charms, yet commands the eye." 

There is another portrait in this gallery on which too we 
may gaze with interest, for it gives us the lineaments of one 
who in his day was the troubler of Italy, shrinking from no 
means to. gain his end, using the dagger and the poison with 
perfect recklessness to remove a rival, and without compunc- 
tion throwing aside his priestly office and Cardinal's rank to 
become the leader of armies, when a temporal principality 
was within his reach. It is the picture of a young man, but 
with no flush of youth upon his countenance. The face is 
pale and sallow, the lips compressed, and the look keenly 
intellectual. You would decide that every line and feature 
revealed the character of an accomplished, yet unprincipled 
intriguer. The judgment would be right, for that is Ra- 
phael's portrait of Csesar Borgia. 

Look at one more picture, which is founded on a legend 
of the Church of Rome. It is " St. Anthony preaching to 
the fishes" by Paul Veronese. The sermon which he de- 
livered on that occasion can be purchased in any of the 
bookstores in this city. It commences v/ith the salutation — 
*' Cari et amati pesci" — (dearly beloved fish) — and at its 
conclusion, the legend tells us — the fish bowed to him, " con 
gesti di profonda umilta e con reverente sembiante di reli- 
gione" — (with profound humility, and a grave and religious 
countenance.) The artist seems to have endeavored to ex- 
hibit this happy close of the Saint's lecture, and the upturned 
eyes of the fish are certainly very edifying. After the dis- 
course was over, and this flattering testimonial in its behalf 



232 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

had been received, the Saint gave them his blessing, and the 
congregation dispersed. 

The Borghese family is one of the most wealthy of the 
Roman nobility, and distinguished also for its public liberal- 
ity. Just beyond the city is the Villa Borghese occupying a 
portion of the Pincian Hill, and with its gardens and pleasure 
grounds covering a circuit of more than three miles in extent. 
And yet its walks are open to all who choose to enter — prince 
or peasant — and there they may wander about or ride, with a 
perfect wilderness of statues around them, while at every 
turn graceful temples arrest the attention, and the eye is re- 
freshed by the sight of water, spread out into lakes> or flung 
high into the air by sparkling fountains. Here and there are 
Latin inscriptions declaring the wish of the noble" owner that 
all should unite in the enjoyment which these splendid gar- 
dens offer. One of them states, that " all these things are 
prepared for strangers rather than for the master." 

The last Prince Borghese married Napoleon's beautiful 
sister Pauline. Of the reality of her beauty indeed the pre- 
sent generation have a good opportunity of judging, for^her 
statue almost in a state of nudity was executed by Canova, 
and is esteemed one of his most finished works. She is 
taken in the character of Venus, reclining gracefully on a 
couch, and holding in one hand the apple which Paris had 
just awarded her in the contest of beauty with the other god- 
desses. The present Prince married a lady as widely differ- 
ent in character from the Princess Pauline, as is possible. 
She was a daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and died 
about two years ago, leaving behind her a character for 
sanctity, which seems to have been gained by a life of ear- 
nest devotion and ceaseless charity seldom witnessed in her 
elevated rank. She would steal away from the magnificence 
of their villa, where every thing was around her to win the 
affections to earth, and in the dress of one of the Sisterhood 
of Charity, go through the city seeking every where distress 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 233 

and misery to which she might minister. I read her funeral 
sermon while in Rome, and if half is true which is there re- 
lated, or which I heard mentioned in conversation as illus- 
trating her spirit of self-denial, she deserves to be canonized 
more than nine-tenths of those who now figure in the Romish 
calendar. 

Her sister, the Lady Catherine Talbot, likewise married 
one of the first noblemen in Italy — the Prince Doria. Their 
palace, we have already said, is one of the most splendid in 
Rome, and kept in a degree of style and elegance befitting 
such a place. More than one thousand pictures are arranged 
in its long galleries, where the magnificence of every thing 
around is in admirable harmony. The great charm of this 
collection consists in its Claudes. As we walk on, we are 
arrested every little while by one of those bright glowing 
pictures — generally a sunset, whose radiance is thrown over 
the whole landscape, until it forms a scene of fairy enchant- 
ment on which poets love to muse, and which Claude alone 
could embody and spread upon the canvass. 

We never however passed the Palazzo Doria in the Corso, 
without thinking that its owner was out of place. The 
Dorias seem to belong to Genoa, where the name of Andrea 
Doria will always remain the noblest on the page of her his- 
tory. His immense wealth enabled him to support a fleet of 
twenty-two galleys, and with this he turned the scale and 
freed his country from the yoke of France. He declined 
the offer of the ducal coronet for life, and, had he wished, 
there is no doubt but that he might have acquired the abso- 
lute sovereignty. But a few weeks before, we had been 
through his palace in Genoa. On its front is a long Latin 
inscription, in which the stately old Admiral, " II Principe " 
— to use the title which Charles V. granted him — informs us 
that he erected this residence for himself and his successors 
— " cedes sibi et successoribus instauravit, MDXXVIII." 
Around the palace are extensive gardens which descend to 



234 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

the shore of the Mediterranean, and thus their walls are 
washed by the waves of that sea on which he won immortal 
glory. You wander on through walks of cypress and orange, 
while statues and fountains and vases placed around, all 
seem in perfect harmony with the beauty of the grounds. 
The palace can lay no claim to the magnificence of that in 
Rome, but its historical associations invest it with far greater 
interest. The absence of the family however has suffered it 
to fall somewhat into decay, and unless care is taken, a few 
years more will efface entirely the splendid frescoes with 
which Perino decorated it in the days of the Great Admiral. 

As a whole however no palace interested us so much as the 
Colonna. There is something, to be sure, in the association 
of the name, for through all the Middle Ages it was the 
noblest family in Rome. Their lineage runs back to some 
remote source on the banks of the Rhine, where the wildest 
legends mingle with the truth. It was even maintained, in 
support of their old Roman origin, that they were descended 
from a cousin of Nero, who escaped from the city, and 
founded Mentz in Germany ; and Gibbon tells us, that " the 
Sovereigns of Germany were not ashamed of a real or fabu- 
lous affinity with a noble race, which in the revolutions of 
seven hundred years has been often illustrated by merit, and 
always by fortune." They are supposed to have descended 
from the ancient Counts of Tusculum, but the first historical 
mention of them is in the middle of the eleventh century, 
when the Countess Emelia of Palestrina married a Baron 
described as de Columna. Thus Palestrina, which is about 
twelve miles from Colonna, passed into their hands, and for 
centuries after it was their mountain fastness, and celebrated 
in all their struggles with the Popes. 

To the student of Ecclesiastical History this place is par- 
ticularly associated with the contest of the family with Bonifaec 
VIII. He was one of the Gaetani family, and the two Cardi- 
nals Giacamo and Pietro Colonna, having vainly opposed his 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 235 

election, retired with their kinsman Sciarra to this castle, and 
there openly disclaimed his authority. He at once excom- 
municated them — offered plenary indulgence to all who 
would take up arms against the family — and was thus 
enabled, after a gallant resistance, to take their strong hold. 
Their power broken, the Cardinals agreed to come to Anagni, 
where the Pope was residing, and make their submission. 
Then was witnessed one of those acts of treachery, not unu- 
sual in the Papal history. Boniface was advised to " pro- 
mise much and perform little," and he fully acted up to the 
counsel ; for which Dante in his Inferno, has condemned 
him to immortal infamy. He nominally granted them par- 
don, but at the same time took measures to have Palestrina 
razed to the ground, and the whole Colonna family hunted 
out of Italy. 

But the hour of retribution came. Sciarra Colonna, after 
a series of most romantic adventures, returned to Rome just 
as the King of France, Philippe le Bel, had despatched Wil- 
Ham de Nogaret to seize the Pope, and with this party he 
allied himself. It was in 1303 that Boniface was residing 
at Anagni, some fifty miles from Rome, and believing all his 
enemies crushed, he had prepared a Bull, in which he main- 
tained, " that as Vicar of Jesus Christ, he had the power to 
govern kings with a rod of iron, and to dash them in pieces 
like a potter's vessel." The eighth of September, the Anni- 
versary of the Nativity of the Virgin, was the time selected 
for its publication, but the very day preceding, his dream of 
dominion was most rudely broken. Shouts were heard along 
the streets of Anagni — " Long life to the King of France ! 
Death to Boniface !" and looking from his palace window, 
the Pope beheld a band of three hundred horsemen headed 
by his old enemy, just surrounding the Pontifical residence. 

Boniface was now in his eighty-seventh year, but age 
had not broken the courage of one of whom it was written 
" regnabit ut Leo" — (he shall reign as a lion) — and he pre- 



236 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

pared with firmness to meet his foes. He clothed himself in 
his official robes, placed the crown of Constantino on his 
head, and with the keys and cross in his hands, seated him- 
self in the Pontifical Chair. Sciarra Colonna rushed first 
into his presence, but struck by the dignified composure of 
his enemy, he went no farther than verbal insults. Nogaret 
followed, but feeling less reverence, he dragged the Pope 
forth, and committed him to close imprisonment. Three 
days afterwards, the people rose, expelled the intruders, and 
rescued Boniface, but they could not soothe his wounded 
spirit, and he shortly died from the violence of his passions 
and the disgrace which he felt had been inflicted on him. 

His successor, Benedict XL, absolved the Colonnas from 
excommunication, and they shortly after began to rebuild 
Palestrina, which in 1311, was ready to receive Henry of 
Luxembourg, Emperor of Germany, when he came to Rome 
to be crowned. Louis of Bavaria resided there at his coro- 
nation in 1328, and twice Stephen Colonna repulsed Rienzi 
from its walls, when he was vainly attempting to seize it. 

It is this Stephen Colonna who stands preeminent among 
the heroes of the Middle Ages, and whose name, in the mind 
of every Italian scholar, is so intimately associated with that 
of Petrarch. It is worth while learninor Italian to read the 
letters which the poet addressed to him, styling him " a 
phoenix sprung from the ashes of the ancient Romans." Nor 
was this praise undeserved. In every change of fortune, and 
even in exile, Stephen Colonna sustained his dignity. When 
driven from his country, and an attendant asked him — 
" Where is now your fortress ?" — he laid his hand on his 
heart, and answered — " Here." Amidst the feuds of Rome, 
or at the Court of Avignon, he commanded no feeling but 
that of reverence. 

But these historical recollections have led us from our sub- 
ject. At Avignon we had seen the deserted Colonna palace 
standing directly opposite to that of the Popes, and which was 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 237 

occupied by some of the family during the residence there of 
the Papal Court — " the Babylonish captivity," — as Petrarch 
calls it ; but it cannot compare in splendor with this one at 
Rome. The latter was commenced in 1417 by Pope Martin 
v., (Oddone Colonna.) Here also afterwards lived Cardinal 
Borromeo and Pope Julius II., and in the fifteenth century, 
when Andrew Paleologus, the Emperor of the East, visited 
Rome, it was here that he made his home. The palace 
seems to preserve its distinctive character as the peculiar 
residence of the family, and in all parts of it we learn some- 
thing of their past history, until the whole building becomes, 
as it were, one record of their deeds. Every where we see 
their armorial bearings — the column, surmounted by the 
crown — the latter emblem being added by Louis of Bavaria 
at his coronation, out of gratitude to the family for their as- 
sistance ; while on the walls are portraits of Cardinals and 
Popes, and the leaders of armies — men whose names were 
celebrated in their day — all claiming descent from the Co- 
lonna. 

These are mostly arranged in the great gallery, more 
than two hundred feet in length, the noblest Hall in Rome, 
and not surpassed by any in Europe. Its ceiling is painted 
in fresco with a representation of the battle of Lepanto, where 
the Roman galleys were led by a Piince of this family. It 
was on Sunday, the seventh of October, A. D. 1571, that the 
Crescent and the Cross were thus arrayed against each other, 
and it added to the courage of the Christian soldiers to 
know, that on that day all their brethren through Christen- 
dom were oifering up prayers for the success of the arms 
they wielded. It is an additional circumstance of interest, 
that the galleys of Genoa were led by John Andrew Doria, 
a descendant of the great Admiral. After a conflict of four 
hours victory declared for the Cross. Upwards of fifteen 
thousand Turks fell in the battle, sixty-two ships were sunk 
and a hundred and twenty taken, while more than twelve 

11* 



238 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

thousand Christian slaves found in the Ottoman vessels were 
set at liberty. The arrival of the news in Rome, we are 
told, revived the memory of her ancient glory, and it was 
determined to bestow upon Prince Colonna the honor of a 
modern triumph. He was received with all possible splen- 
dor by the Senator and Magistrates of the city, and like the 
old Consuls escorted with pomp and acclamations to the Capi- 
tol. His portrait hangs upon the wall, showing in all his 
bearing, the chivalrous soldier. 

Yet near it is one which interests us more. It is the 
picture of Vittoria Colonna, the sweet poetess, whose sonnets 
will live as long as the language in which they are written, 
and who well deserved the title her countrymen bestowed 
upon her — "the most beautiful and glorious lady.'* She 
was the wife of the Marquis of Pescara, and when efforts 
were made to turn him from his fidelity to the Spanish cause, 
she wrote to him these noble admonitions — " Remember your 
virtue, which raises you above fortune and above Kings. 
By that alone, and not by the splendor of titles, is glory ac- 
quired, that glory which it will be your happiness and pride 
to transmit unspotted to your posterity." Her husband was 
killed at the battle of Pavia, and thenceforth she retired from 
the world. Most beautiful in mind and person, she had no 
lack of suitors, but she remained constant to the memory of 
the lost, and when she celebrates his praises, the deep and 
true tenderness of her lines shows the earnestness of her 
affection. But she was also a priestess of religion, and con- 
secrated her lyre to the mysteries and graces of our faith, 
leaning indeed so much to the purer doctrines which then be- 
gan to spread, heralding the Reformation, that she often drew 
upon herself reproach and satire. But her purity of song 
was so well acknowledged, that even in life she gained the 
title of Divine, which was granted to Dante and Ariosto only 
after death. Her fame indeed spread widely, so that Ariosto 
dedicated to her a number of his immortal verses. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 239 

But she lias another claim to our interest. It was to her 
that Michael Angelo Buonarotti devoted his Muse, when 
turning from Sculpture and Painting he sought the inspira- 
tion of their sister Poetry. He worshipped her with that 
Platonic love which at this period had begun to imbue the 
minds of Italian poets, redeeming the passion from all that 
was earthly, showing it purified by the loftiest virtue, and 
raising its object almost to the confines of Divinity. His 
love therefore was not like that of Dante for his Beatrice, or 
of Petrarch for his Laura, for they shared too deeply in the 
feelings of mere mortals. But while every line of Buonarotti 
glows with tenderness, we perceive that it is something 
sacred, partaking of the love which he might have had for 
an object purely ideal, the sort of abstract devotion with 
which he would have worshipped the Beautiful in art. And 
did she, who had refused the hand of princes, return this af- 
fection ? There is no evidence that she did. She admired 
him as an almost inspired artist, and often wrote to him with 
warm regard, yet no tinge of earthly passion appears in any 
of the lines of Vittoria Colonna. Her life glided quietly 
away in the Convent near Rome in which she resided, yet 
without taking the vows, and there she died in old age, a 
few years before her impassioned admirer. 

With all these associations, is it to be wondered that we 
gazed long upon her picture ? How sweet and calm appears 
her countenance seen thus among the warlike princes of her 
race ; as strange as the contrast furnished by the soft and 
melodious verses she could weave, while they were engaged 
in wild forays and deeds of blood ! As we stand before it, 
we forget the last three centuries, and remember only that Age 
so glorious for Italy, when at once she exchanged the dark- 
ness which had shrouded her, for all that was noble in the 
arts or elevated in poetry. 

The most beautiful woman we have seen in Italy is a 
princess of the Colonna family. It was in the lofty halls of 



240 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

one of these old feudal palaces, when the radiance of an 
hundred lamps flashing back from the gilded ceilings and 
marble columns, presented a scene of elegance, for the dis- 
play of which no place is better adapted than the palace of 
a Roman Prince. The saloons were filled with the noblest 
of these sunny climes, whose names recalled associations 
which stretched back to the mediseval times. Rich music 
fell on the ear — jewels flashed before the eye — and the 
beauty of England was seen by the side of the more impas- 
sioned loveliness of Southern Europe. Around the Princess 
Doria, a circle of her countrymen had gathered, claiming 
her to themselves, as a descendant of the old heroic Talbots. 
But among all present^ — "the observed of all observers," — 
was this member of the princely house of Colonna, of whom 
we have spoken. As the light flashed from the diamond 
tiara on her head, she seemed worthy to be a queen, even in 
this land where beauty is an inheritance, and where the 
classical features of the lowest peasantry are often those from 
which Raphael might have drawn his inspiration." 

But the fortunes of this noble house seem now to be waning, 
for the age of chivaly is gone, and that of utilitarianism has 
taken its place. 

" And noble name, and cultured land. 
Palace and park, and vassal band 
Are powerless to the notes of hand 
Of Rothschild, or the Barings." 

The present prince is seldom in Rome. Having married 
a lady of Naples, he generally resides in that city. In the 
last century the family even sold to the Ludovisi the estate 
of Colonna, thus alienating a place from which they derive 
their name ; and in the seventeenth century they parted with 
Palestrina, their old feudal stronghold. It was purchased 
by Carlo Barberini, brother to Urban VIII. , for the sum of 
seven hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. And to 



THE CHRISTBIAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 241 

show how much interest is often felt by these Roman nobles 
in historical recollections, it is related that the last Prince 
Barberini — whose family had not seen Palestrina for three 
generations — being asked, why he did not visit so interesting 
a spot, a short day's journey from his palace in Rome, re- 
plied — "Why, my father never visited it: besides, it is too 
long a journey for my own horses, and not worth the ex- 
pense of posting."* 

We will refer to but one more of these palaces — that 
of the Barherini. The family was formerly one of the most 
powerful in Rome, being built up by Pope Urban VIII., 
(Mateo Barberini,) whose reign was noted for its nepotism. 
Their crest — the bee — is seen on buildings in every part of 
the city, and is sculptured even in the interior of St. Peter's, 
and on the canopy over the High Altar, which was also 
erected by the sam.e Pope. 

The library is celebrated for its manuscripts, containing 
all the correspondence of Urban VIII. Some of them are 
of great historical value, such as the official reports on 
the state of the Church of Rome in England during the reign 
of Charles I. They must contain much matter for a history 
of the Stuart family, which would throw light upon many 
hitherto disputed points. Mabillon, who in 1686 came into 
Italy with a commission from the King of France to collect 

* Lady Morgan, twenty years ago, related a story equally good of 
the Borghese family. Their library had not been opened for many 
years before the revolution. Some time after that event, and the young 
prince had married into the Buonaparte family, a visit to it was proposed 
as a frolic after dinner. After a long search for keys, the party proceed- 
ed thither w^ith lights, when, on opening the door, the singular spectacle 
presented itself of the whole room in a blaze. This sudden conflagration 
was caused by the cobwebs which covered the walls taking fire the mo- 
ment the candles were brought in. The flame ran rapidly round, and 
was extinguished as rapidly. Stores of gold, silver, and ivory work of 
the most beautiful description were found in the Guarda-roha of the pal- 
ace, where they had been long forgotten. 



242 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

manuscripts, had an opportunity of examining those in the 
Barberini library, and gives a pleasant account of some 
original papers he found there.* They contain a negotiation 
between the Spaniards and Urban VIII. It seems there was 
a saint held in great reverence in some parts of Spain, of 
the name of Viar. The more to encourage his worship, 
they petitioned the Pope to grant some special indulgences 
to his altars. He naturally, in reply, inquired into the 
proofs ■ of his sanctity, when they produced a monumental 
stone which had been dug up, and on which the whole claim 
rested, having on it the letters, S. VIAR. Unfortunately 
however the antiquarians of the day immediately perceived 
it to be a fragment of some old Roman inscription, in mem- 
ory of one who had been "PreefectuS. VIARum," or 
" Overseer of the Highways." 

This palace once contained a fine gallery of paintings, 
but as the fortune of the family was reduced, many of them 
were scattered, and now form the principal attraction of 
other collections in the city. And yet there is one remaining 
in the Gallery, which renders it in some respects the favorite 
collection in Rome." It is the portrait of Beatrice Cenci. 
The Custode carried us through the different rooms, and 
pointed out one picture after another, but we hastily turned 
from them all in our impatience to see the gem of the col- 
lection. At length he drew aside a curtain, and there we 
saw the original with which copies had so long made us 
familiar. They have been multiplied all over the world, 
and the engravings too have been widely circulated, but not 
one that we had ever seen conveyed an idea of that touching 
expression which gives such a charm to the portrait by 
Guido. 

The history of Beatrice Cenci is one of those strange 
tales which seem more like the wildest fiction than any thing 

* Mabil. Iter. Ital, p. 145. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 243 

which could have happened in real life. Shelley has made 
it the foundation of his tragedy of " The Cenci," where the 
darker features are hinted at, while in the development 
of the plot, historical truth seems as far as possible to 
have been observed. Her father was of a noble Roman 
family, and in the sixteenth century one of the most powerful 
Barons of Italy. He was leagued with all the restless 
evil spirits in the land, and indeed one of those demons in 
human form who seem to leave us in doubt whether or not 
he can be of the same nature with his fellow -men. In the 
tragedy, he thus describes his own fiend-like tastes and pur- 
suits in language which history tells us is but too strictly 
true — 

" When I was young, I thought of nothing else 
But pleasure ; and I fed on honey-sweets ; 
Men, by St. Thomas ! cannot live like bees. 
And I grew tired ; — yet, till I kill'd a foe, 
And heard his groans, and heard his children's groans, 
Knew I not what delight was else on earth, 
Which now dehghts me little. I the rather 
Look on such pangs as terror ill conceals. 
The dry fix'd eyeball ; the pale quivering lip. 
Which tells me that the spirit weeps within 
Tears bitterer than the bloody sweat of Christ. 
I rarely kill the body, which preserves. 
Like a strong prison, the soul within my power, 
Wherein I feed it with the breath of fear 
For hourly pain." 

Although his wealth was almost countless, yet his chil- 
dren were kept in poverty. Two of his sons sent into 
Spain, died in want, and his daughter with her step-mother, 
were treated with the most shocking brutality. Yet none 
dared to interfere, for Count Cenci was an enemy who struck 
without giving any warning, and whose blow was never in 
vain, Shelley represents Cardinal Cam.illo remonstrating 



244 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

with him on his daughter's " strange and uncomplaining 
wrongs," when he receives this characteristic answer — 

" Cardinal, 
One thing I pray you, recollect henceforth. 
And so we shall converse with less restraint. 
A man you knew, spoke of my wife and daughter — 
He was accustom'd to frequent my house ; 
So the next day Ms wife and daughter came 
And ask'd if I had seen him ; and I smil'd : 
I think they never saw him any more ." 

But the secret of his immunity was his enormous wealth. 
Whatever deed of wickedness was detected, he could always 
purchase his pardon from the Pope. A grant was made of 
one of his fiefs to a nephew of the Pontiff, and all was hushed 
up. Count Cenci had therefore reason to say — 

" No doubt Pope Clement, 
And his most charitable nephews, pray 
That the Apostle Peter and the saints 
Will grant for iheir sakes that I long enjoy 
Strength, wealth, and pride, and lust, and length of days 
Wherein to act the deeds which are the stewards 
Of their revenue." ' 

At length his iniquity reached its climax, and he attempted 
an outrage upon the person of his daughter Beatrice. Shortly 
afterwards he was found strangled in his bed, at the Castle 
of Petrella, among the Apulian Apennines. Whether or 
not Beatrice was guilty of plotting his death cannot be deter- 
mined, yet it is evident she was at this time suffering from 
an almost total alienation of reason. She was arrested, 
with her step- mother and brother, and put to torture, but 
nothing could be extorted from her. Shelley states, that the 
murderers employed by her confessed when put to the rack, 
but another version of the story is, that seeing her younger 
brother Bernardo exposed to the torture, she assumed the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 245 

guilt of the deed to herself, for the sake of saving him. 
The, true account it is difficult to procure, as it exists only in 
the records of the Court, and the Government does not per- 
mit it to be made public. 

Every effort was made to save Beatrice, but the Pope 
would not commute her sentence of death, for the Treasury 
needed replenishing, and he wished to confiscate the Cenci 
estates. The night before her execution, she made for her- 
self a robe of white sackcloth with a loose winding head- 
dress of the same material, and it was finished but an hour 
before she left her prison. Guide — says the family tradition 
— saw her mount the scaffold, and struck with her exquisite 
beauty, painted her portrait from memory. The picture 
originally belonged to the Colonna family, and still has the 
column and crown painted in one corner. With so roman- 
tic a history attached to it, no one can wonder that this is the 
favorite picture in Rome. We gaze upon it, and Beatrice 
seems before us, showing a face of childlike loveliness, 
utterly unlike that of one who could ever have been an actor 
in such a terrible tragedy. The head is turned on one side, 
as if she was leaving you, yet looking back. From the folds 
of the white drapery, her golden hair escapes and falls about 
her neck. The large, full eyes look mournfully from the 
canvass, and the delicate features are all swollen with weep- 
ing. The whole expression is one deeply pathetic — the 
countenance of a gentle being who had been stricken with 
despair, yet from whose every lineament, there beams forth 
an exquisite loveliness. " Beatrice Cenci" — says Shelley — 
" appears to have been one of those rare persons in whom 
energy and gentleness dwell together, without destroying one 
another : her nature was simple and profound. The crimes 
and miseries in which she was an actor and a sufferer, are 
as the mask and the mantle in which circumstances clothed 
her for her impersonation on the scene of the world." 

Since this tragedy, the old palace of the Cenci in the 



246 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

city, has stood desolate and uninhabited, as if stricken by a 
curse. The family, we believe, ended at that time ; its sole 
survivor, the young Bernardo,disappeared, and was generally 
supposed to have been placed in a monastery. We wan- 
dered over the courts of the palace, and looked through its 
deep, dark dungeons, with the interest with which this strange 
story has invested it. It is now in the most obscure quarter 
of Rome — an immense, gloomy, and deserted pile of massive 
architecture, without doors or windows or any sign of hu- 
man habitation, yet showing, by its antique friezes of fine 
workmanship, the magnificence which it once possessed. 
There seems to brood over it a spirit of desolate and ruined 
grandeur. Adjoining it is the little Chapel of S, Thom- 
maso a' Cenci. erected by the notorious Count Francisco 
Cenci, of whom we have been speaking, and endowed to 
offer up masses for the peace of his soul. What a strange 
contradiction of traits ! Yet thus religion is often exhibited 
in this land. Shelley truly says — ^that in an Italian, " it is 
interwoven with the whole fabric of life. It is adoration, 
faith, submission, penitence, blind admiration ; not a rule 
for moral conduct. It has no necessary connection with any 
one virtue. The most atrocious villain may be rigidly de- 
vout, and, without any shock to established faith, confess 
himself to be so. Religion pervades intensely the whole 
frame of society, and is, according to the temper of the mind 
which it inhabits, a passion, a persuasion, an excuse, a 
refuo-e : never a check." 

To believe in the innocence of Beatrice, is part of the creed 
of an Italian. Her story is one of those romantic traditions 
which sink deeply into the popular mind. Every beggar on 
the steps of the Scala di Spagna is perfectly familiar with 
it. He knows her portrait as well as he does the pictures 
of the Madonna, and no possible evidence could turn him 
from the conviction that she was a victim unjustly sacrificed. 
Every Roman acts most religiously on the parting advice 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 247 

slie is represented as giving to the young Bernardo — 
" One thing more, my child, 



For thine own sake be constant to the love 

Thou bedrest us ; and to the faith that I, 

Though wrapt in a strange cloud of crime and shame, 

Lived ever holy and unstain'd. And though 

111 tongues shall wound me, and our common name 

Be as a mark stamp'd on thine innocent brow 

For men to point at as they pass, do thou 

Forbear, and never think a thought unkind 

Of those who perhaps love thee in their graves." 



EXCURSION TO TIVOLI. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The neighborhood of Rome abounds with scenes to which 
the visitor can make delightful excursions. We have been 
to-day to Tivoli, to which every one goes, and we therefore 
followed the example of the rest of the world. The sun was 
just rising as we passed through the g-ate of San Lorenzo, and 
near the old Church of the same name. It stands close with- 
out the walls, and is one of the most ancient in the world. 
We may still see within it, the upper row of columns for the 
female gallery, preserved unaltered from an early age. Our 
road led for nearly the whole distance over the desolate Cam- 
pagna, which we traversed by the Via Tiburtina, in some 
parts passing over the ancient pavement, formed by large 
blocks of lava.* Here and there was a tomb, or the remains 
of some shattered monument — the only tokens existing of the 
thousands who once inhabited this waste region, now given 
up to sterility and miasma. 

A few miles brought us to a canal which drains the sul- 
phureous lake of Salfatara. The water which flows through 
it is of a milky color, and long before we reached it, the sul- 
phureous fumes and gas gave notice of its vicinity. The 
lake was once a mile in circuit, but has been gradually di- 
minishing until but little of it is visible. It is filled with 
floating islands, composed of small masses of reeds and other 
substances matted together, and which are carried to and 
fro by the wind, like those of the Vadimon lake of which 

* It has been discovered by excavating, that this ancient road has 
been paved three times, the pavements being found one above the other. 



252 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Pliny has given such a minute account.* These bituminous 
masses gradually add to the solid concretions on the margin 
of the lake, and probably in the course of a short time the re- 
maining surface will be hid. For a considerable space 
around, the ground sounds hollow under foot, showing that 
we are only treading on the crust which covers the lake. 

A short distance farther and we crossed the Anio by the 
Ponte Lucana, a bridge well known to visitors in Rome by 
the picture of Poussin in the Doria palace. Near it stands the 
lofty tomb of Plautius Silvanus, who accompanied Claudius 
on his expedition into Britain. Like all these massive mon- 
uments, it was during the Middle Ages converted int ' a 
fortress, and the battlements by which it was crowned still 
remain. It is a most picturesque ruin, and a favorite sub- 
ject with the landscape painters of all countries. From this 
spot we left the main road, and by a narrow and vile lane 
rode to Hadrian's villa. It is a strange mass of ruins, far 
more extensive even than the Palace of the Csesars, and 
giving proof of that spirit of luxury which was the absorbing 
feeling in the latter days of Rome. It was originally con- 
structed on a plan surpassing every thing else that even Im- 
perial magnificence had attempted, and covering a space of 
from eight to ten miles in circuit. Into, this one spot the 
Emperor intended to gather an imitation of all that he had 
seen in his travels, which most interested him. Here were 
a Lyceum, an Academy, a Poecile in imitation of that at 
Athens, a vale of Tempe, a Serapeon of Canopus like the 
one at Alexandria, a stream called the Euripus, a Library, 
Barracks for the Guards, a Tartarus, Elysian fields, and 
Temples dedicated to a perfect Pantheon of gods. He had 

" collected 
All things that strike, ennoble — from the depths 
Of E^ypt, from the classic fields of Greece, 
Her groves, her temples — all things that inspire 
Wonder, delight." 

* Ep. vii. 20. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. fi53 

We found the usual Cicerone, and spent some hours in 
wandering about among the massive ruins. To attempt to 
describe them would be useless. They are found in every 
possible form and shape, scattered over this vast space. 
Sometimes lofty arches towered over our heads, wreathed 
with ivy, and crowned by shrubs and bushes waving in the 
breeze, and then we came to the ruins of a theatre, where 
the circular seats were still visible, sixteen centuries after 
the audience had been turned to dust. A long range 
of broken arches in a most picturesque form, show where 
once the Praetorian guards were quartered, and the massive 
remains of Baths give some idea of the magnificence of this 
portion of the palace. Sometimes our guide led us under 
ground through galleries and crypts, on the ceilings of w^hich 
are still seen the remains of fresco paintings, and then clam- 
bering over fallen columns we came to the edge of a hill, 
and in a deserted meadow below we saw all that was left of 
Hadrian's Vale of Tempo. What a perfect Paradise must 
it have been in its day, when human ingenuity had here 
exhausted all its skill ! Let the imagination rebuild once 
more these fallen piles — rear these crumbling arches — trans- 
form, as of old, into a fairy scene these groves and gardens 
— and we can scarcely believe that there ever has existed 
such a reality in this every-day world. It would rather 
seem some artist's glorious dream, or what the Italians in 
common expression call, " un pezzo di cielo caduto in terra" 
— a little bit of Heaven^allen upon the Earth. 

But Time here has not been the only spoiler. For cen- 
turies the degenerate Romans used these ruins as they would 
a quarry, and plundered them for porphyry and marble col- 
umns to adorn their palaces and Churches. Their excava- 
tions indeed brought many gems of art to light, for here were 
found the Venus de Medici — the celebrated Vase which we 
saw in Warwick Castle in England — and many others of 
those beautiful works which now enrich the museums of 

12 



254 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Europe. But the work of desolation is at length complete. 
Lofty trees have sprung up in every part, twining their- roots 
among the massive stones, and thick vines have grown over 
the fluted columns, so that you have to tear them aside to see 
the sculptures on their capitals. Not a sound was heard ex- 
cept when the bee hummed about us as he flitted among the 
wild flowers to gather his honey. All was as quiet as the 
first Sabbath after the Creation. The traces of man's luxury 
were rapidly disappearing, and Nature was again claiming 
this beautiful spot for her own. 

At this villa Hadrian resided when he was seized with 
his last and fatal illness. Here he had everything gathered 
around him to make life happy, and every luxury at hand 
which the world could furnish. The gems of art filled his 
palaces, and from the portico in front he had a distant view 
of Rome with its many towers gleaming in the sun light — the 
magnificent Metropolis of the Earth, of which he was the ab- 
solute master. How hard then must it have been for him to 
see the gates of Eternity opening before him, " not knowing 
the things that should befall him there !" Yet amid all his 
pomps and pleasures, he seems to have made as great prepa- 
rations for his death as for his life, and the mightiest monu- 
ment in Rome is the one he reared to mceive his remains. 
But there as elsewhere. Time has made sad changes and ut- 
terly defeated the builder's object. The Imperial tomb of 
Hadrian was soon perverted to be a fortress for the living — 
its sculptured ornaments were gradually defaced by the hand 
of violence — Belisarius hurled on the invading Goths the 
beautiful statues which adorned the interior — and now it 
stands naked and frowning, as the Papal Castle of St. Ange- 
lo. Even the marble sarcophagus which once held his body 
has been seized by modern spoilers, and now holds the ashes 
of Pope Innocent II. 

A few miles farther and we leave the Campagna, com- 
mencing the ascent of the hills by a road which winds through 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 255 

olive groves until it reaches Tivoli. Bold rocks jutting out 
into the road — the old olive trees, with their gnarled and 
twisted stems — simple shrines before which the contradina 
are kneeling in their picturesque costumes — and above, the 
old and hoary ruins of two thousand years — these are the 
features of the landscape. The peasantry seemed to be en- 
joying themselves — some, basking lazily in the sunshine, 
inhaling an atmosphere, which to breathe is luxury — and 
some, as in the days of Virgil reclining 5w& iegiimie fagi, but 
we fear that in this accidental circumstance alone like the 
hero of the First Bucolic. 

There are few places about which linger so many clas- 
sical associations as Tivoli. Five centuries before the found- 
ing of Rome, here stood the ancient Tibur, and when the 
colonists of Romulus had gathered on the Seven Hills, they 
found it a powerful rival not to be reduced until after years of 
warfare. Then it became a mere suburb of Rome, the de- 
lightful retreat of its patricians, and the prison of its captives. 
Hither they sent Syphax, King of Numidia, and here he ended 
his days, being thus saved the mortification of gracing the tri- 
umph of Scipio Africanus. As Livy tells us — " Syphax was 
withdrawn rather from the gaze of the multitude, than from 
the glory of the conqueror, by dying a little before the tri- 
umph, at Tibur."* In the Vatican however is a monumental 
inscription found in this place, bearing the name of the cap- 
tive King, which expressly states that he was led in the 
triumph. How the fiery African fretted away his life, we 
know not, though Polybius tells us that he died in prison, 
and Claudian that he swallowed poison. 

"haurire venena 

Compulimus dirum Syphacem." 

Two centuries more brought the days of Roman luxury, 
when the same beauty of scenery which now attracts so 

* Lib. i. c. 13. 



256 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

many visitors, made it the favorite residence of poets, phi- 
losophers, and statesmen, and the ruins of their villas are still 
scattered about through the lovely valleys and on the hill 
sides. Then, its praises began to be sung in the harmonious 
measures of verse, and thus by Roman poets the name of 
Tivoli was first invested with those sweet associations, which 
still cling to it wherever it is heard. Virgil bestowed on it 
the epithet, " Superbum Tibur," and to this day these words 
are borne as the motto on the City arms. Catullus^ who was 
a wealthy patrician as well as a poet, had here his villa, in 
whose praises he delighted to dwell — Propertius pays his 
tribute to the beauty of these hills and valleys — and the 
words "lucus Tiburni" often occur in the sweetest lyrics of 
Horace. His verses, he tells us, were often composed when 
wandering among iis shady groves — 

" Circa nemus, uvidique 
Tiburis ripas operosa parvus 
Carmina fingo." 

That he had a villa here, we do not believe, nor is any 
credit to be attached to the scattered ruins which here go by 
his name.* The very terms he uses proves the fact. When 
expressing the earnest wish that he might spend his declining 
years among its retreats, his language is — 

" Sit mese sedes utinam senectoe." 

But the " sit utinam" shows that it was rather a hope fondly 
cherished, than any thing which he had yet realized. He 
lived in a day however when the Roman patricians delighted 
to patronize genius, and here, at the table of his friend Mecse- 
nas and the other lordly patrons whom he celebrates in his 
verses, the poet was undoubtedly often found, a visitor in 
Tibur, though not a resident. Some miles distant, in a little 
valley formed by the ridges of Mount Lucretilis, is the prob- 

* Eustace, ii. 70. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 257 

able site of Horace's modest Sabine farm. There, the features 
of the landscape so graphically portrayed in his lines, re- 
main unchanged, and we recognize them at once. Even 
''the pine waving over the villa," and "the ilex spreading 
around the rocks," as they shade the ruined wall and broken 
mosaic pavement, still mark the fidelity of his descriptions. 

Nearly three centuries later, and a captive princess came 
to Tibur, to transfer to its hills the regal luxury of the East. 
It was Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, to whom Aurelian gave 
his palace in this place, and whose daughter he elevated to 
his throne as Empress of Rome. How must the haughty 
spirit of the Eastern Queen have chafed within her, when 
thus forced to live within sight of Imperial Rome, where a 
captive she had walked to grace the triumph of her conquer- 
or ! The memory of that day, when exposed to the rude 
gaze of a Roman populace, she formed a part of the same 
pageant with gladiators, and wild beasts from the East, and 
captives from Gaul, and the rich and gorgeous treasures of 
her own palace borne as spoils of war, must have recurred 
with crushing weight to the mind of one who had hitherto 
been served only with the abject servility of Oriental cere- 
mony. And when there was mingled with this, the recollec- 
tions of her own proud Palmyra — that glorious city of the 
desert — we may well believe, that among the millions who 
owed allegiance to Aurelian, there was no one more wretched 
than the mother of his queen. But all her magnificence has 
passed away, and no traces of her existence here remain, 
except the ruins of the Baths she erected on the Anio, and 
which still retain the name "Bagni di Regina." 

With the Middle Ages, the luxury and splendor of Tivoli 
— for in the Eighth century it had taken this name — -passed 
away, and it became the centre of strife and warfare. Its 
convenient distance from Rome rendered it a place of im- 
portance, and for centuries it was deeply concerned in all 
the struggles between the Emperors and Popes— the Guelphs 



258 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

and Ghibelines. Whenever a faction was expelled from the 
city, its adherents passed over the Campagna, made here 
their first halting place, and fortifying themselves, waited 
the opportunity to return. It seemed as if for Tivoli the Iron 
Age had been renewed. In succession it became a strong 
hold of the powerful houses of the Colonna and the Orsini. 
Here too for a time were the head quarters of Rienzi, and on 
the Square of San Lorenzo he once publicly harangued the 
people with that wild eloquence, which so often enabled him 
to sway the minds of men, and from a peasant to become the 
Tribune of Rome. 

A miserable, dirty town, filled with some fifteen thousand 
inhabitants, as ferocious and lawless as ages of strife and 
misrule could make them, is all that remains of this classical 
and once powerful place. The contrast between the old 
Roman elegance and the dinner they furnished us at the inn 
La Regina, was as great as that which we afterwards found 
at Capua, the vilest, dirtiest place in all Italy, but which we 
only remembered as the city whose luxury enervated the 
army of Hannibal. We passed through the town, picking 
up a guide on our way, and commenced a survey of the 
falls. These are certainly exceedingly beautiful. There 
is a wide, deep valley, the circuit of which is about three 
miles, and on one side, half way up the mountain, the town 
has been built. Beneath it, far below its foundations, the 
rocks are perforated by caverns, out of which and all around 
the circle of the romantic glen, the cascades come dashing 
forth, flinging their spray into the air, and when the sun 
shines, arched by the most beautiful rainbows. There are 
more than twenty of these wild mountain torrents seen from 
different points, as you ride round the terrace which forms 
the sides of the valley. It is about a hundred feet to the 
bottom, and-the water rushes down, leaping from rock to 
rock, and beautifully contrasting its sheet of silvery foam 
with the brilliant verdure of the valley behind. The streams 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 259 

seem to race forth and hurry on as if they were eager to 
meet below, where they unite in the quiet river, and glide 
peacefully away together. Every step varies and changes 
the prospect. At one time the foaming water disappears 
entirely among the chasms in the rocks, or darts away be- 
hind the trees and drooping vines, or sinks into some retired 
grotto, and then once more suddenly dashes forth, and flings 
itself over a precipice in one dazzling sheet of foam, which 
is again lost to sight in the dark gulf beneath. Wilder 
scenes I have seen in my own land, yet never one uniting 
so much of the grandeur of nature with the soft and beauti- 
ful. The contrast is so striking, between the brilliant sun- 
light above, imparting an emerald tint to the vines and shrubs 
on which it rests, and the deep gloom of the gulf beneath. 

And all the way up the glen for miles is a succession of 
the same scenes of beauty. At times, we come to a spot of 
calm and peaceful , loveliness, which almost seems to have 
escaped the curse, and reminds us of the glory of Eden 
before the earth had grown aged, and ceased to reflect back 
the serenity of Heaven. Then is heard again the murmur 
of the little stream as it falls over the rocks, and then, a little 
farther on, not a sound breaks the stillness, as we reach 
some retired valley, where the water spreads out into a suc- 
cession of little mirrors, in whose bosom we see the deep 
blue of the sky above — 

" Bright lakes, those glistening eyes of solitude."* 

Upon a lofty crag, on the very edge of the wild circular 
valley, and overlooking the picturesque scene we have de- 
scribed, stands the little Temple of the Tiburtine Sibyl. It 
is a light and fairy thing not more than twenty feet in diam- 
eter, circular, like that of Vesta at Rome, and surrounded 
by elegant Corinthian columns. What rites were performed 

* The Gipsies— by A. P. Stanley. 



260 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

there we know not, or what deity was worshipped in this 
picturesque little fane, yet a more romantic spot could not 
have been selected, or a more beautiful shrine built for any 
faith. Visible from every point of the landscape, it might 
well have been dedicated to the Nymph of these gushing 
fountains. It seemed in perfect character with the scene — 
harmonizing well with the deep foliage around it, and the 
lonely torrent on which it looked down— resting there in its 
antique beauty, the relic of an age of taste and elegance, 
which even succeeding barbarism had not the heart to 
destroy. 

A little farther on is the ruined Villa of Mecsenas, where 
the patron of Virgil and Horace passed the months of sum- 
mer heat, free from the cares of statesmanship. It looks out 
over the Campagna, and in the distance he might have seen 
the Imperial City, with the golden towers of the Capitol soar- 
ing high above it. Through three of the massive arches 
which still remain, the torrent has found its way, and goes 
dashing on until it is lost in the valley beneath. We re- 
turned to the town, and followed our guide as he unlocked a 
gate, and conducted us down a steep and rocky path which 
led to the bottom of the glen. Here, among the vines wet 
with spray, stalactites hang about glittering like gems, and 
the water has worn its way into the soft rock, forming in every 
direction strangely shaped grottoes, where the moss has 
grown, covering them like a rich carpet. The largest is 
called the Cavern of Neptune, though it vrould much more 
appropriately bear the name of some water Nymph. 

From these Alban hills — which v/e cross on the road 
from Naples — the traveller should always have his first view 
of Rome, if he v/ould avoid disappointment. On every other 
side but little of the city is seen until you are almost under 
its walls. Here, on the contrary, the Campagna spreads 
out before us in all its dreariness, and from the Mediterra- 
nean on the one side, to the Apennines on the other, we have 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 261 

one wide prospect of desolation, broken only here and there 
by a few scattered ruins, while in the centre of this mighty 
plain rises the City, its domes and cupolas and columns seen 
at a single glance from the distance of nearly twenty miles. 
There is something indeed awful in this desolate grandeur, 
contrasting so strongly with the glorious landscape on which 
Hannibal and Pyrrhus gazed from this very spot. 

It was among these hills too that Claude painted many 
of his landscapes. His house still stands on the Pincian 
Mount, near the Convent of Santa Trinita, so that even from 
the window of his studio he looked over Rome, and day after 
day watched the changing lights and the rich glow which 
he has transferred so faithfully to his canvass. We wonder 
not indeed that he lingered among such scenes ! In our 
own land we have scenery which Salvator Rosa would have 
delighted to paint, yet of its grand features we may become 
weary. There is little to enlist the heart and the affections. 
We have no past. But we can never tire of the calm love- 
liness of an Italian landscape. It is not nature alone. It is 
mingled every where with those graceful forms, which three 
thousand years ago art assumed, and which have still sur- 
vived, only more beautiful from age. 

The sun was going down in cloudless beauty when we 
commenced our descent of the hills. Its beams lighted up the 
distant dome of St. Peter's, and shed their mellow radiance 
over the dreary Campagna. The whole scene was bathed 
in a flood of that golden light which Raphael has painted in 
his Transfiguration, imparting even an air of cheerfulness 
to the dark cypresses and pines which overshadowed the old 
tombs on the plain below. Then came the gradual change. 
The rich purple which crested the hills melted from our 
sight as one by one the stars came out. The golden tints 
faded from the landscape, lingered awhile longer in the 
western sky, and then were exchanged for that deep blue 
which characterizes the brief Italian night. With the win- 

12* 



262 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

dows closed to escape the deadly malaria which was rising 
around, we drove rapidly on, and by eight o'clock were once 
more within the gates of the city. 



THE CHURCHES OF ROME. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

It was not suddenly that the reign of Paganism ended 
in Rome. Its decline was gradual and slow. Oae light 
after another faded away, until its shrines were left in dark- 
ness. The old belief had to pass through many stages be- 
fore its power was ended, and it was numbered with those 
forgotten forms of faith which have had their day. It first 
ceased to be a popular religion and lost its hold upon the 
hearts of the multitude — then, it passed into a system of 
philosophy for the learned — and ere it expired, had still far- 
ther degenerated into a mere allegory to employ the ingenu- 
ity of its disciples. Long however it lingered, even after 
Christianity had become dominant, and none dared to confess 
openly their allegiance to its rival. It was not until A. D. 
410, that we can look for its last expiring throes. When in 
that year, for the first time the Imperial City was occupied 
by the invaders, a shock was felt throughout the world, and 
men wildly turned to any cause which might account for her 
fall. Many, in their despair, ascribed this disastrous con- 
summation to the new religion, and to win back the gods 
they supposed had forsaken them, offered for the last time 
sacrifices at their long-deserted shrines. 

But as step by step Paganism retreated, Christianity fol- 
lowed hard upon its footsteps. When the fires had gone 
out on its altars, and no more w^orshippers crowded its tem- 
ples, the new faith at once succeeded to them as spoils won 



266 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

in the conflict she was waging ; and it is to this cause— as 
in the case of the Pantheon — we may probably ascribe the 
preservation of some of these relics of antiquity. They 
were generally however too contracted, the interior or pen- 
etralia, being only intended to receive the images of the gods, 
and not adapted therefore to the meeting of assemblies which 
had now become numerous. 

The Christians naturally turned then to the Basili- 
cas, or Halls of Justice, some of which, as the population 
of the city decreased, or perhaps as the government grew 
more absolute, became useless. And most admirably did 
they answer the purpose of Christian worship. The large 
area and the long aisles seemed built to accommodate a nu- 
merous audience, while the semicircular retreat (apsis) at 
the end, elevated on its flight of steps, needed but little change 
to prepare it for the Bishop and his Presbyters. Several of 
these were therefore granted by the Christian Emperors to 
the Church, and consecrated for the performance of their 
services. But yet this new consecration of Heathen temples 
seemed often insufficient to expel the Paganism which lin- 
gered about their walls, or to change the associations with 
which a half- christianized people regarded the spot. And 
in some cases we trace these feelings existing even to this 
day. Under the brow of the Palatine Hill is a circular 
building once the Temple of Romulus, to which the women 
of ancient Rome were accustomed to carry their children 
when ill, that the priests might pray for their recovery. It 
is now the Church of St. Theodore, and you may at any 
time see the women of modern Rome carrying thither their 
children on the same occasions. 

You have been with us, gentle reader, in a ramble through 
the palaces of Rome, where historical associations crowd 
upon the mind, and miracles of art meet the eye on every 
side : shall we make also a pilgrimage to some of her 
Churches ? Few indeed will there be time to visit — half a 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 267 

dozen perhaps, selected from some two hundred — ^yet you will 
find them no less interesting than the feudal residences of her 
nobility. The traces of antiquity are there also, for you 
can stand within the walls where they worshipped, who for 
fourteen centuries have been hymning praises in the Para- 
dise of God. There too painting and sculpture have placed 
their noblest works, for you are among a people, the Spirit 
of whose faith it is, to dedicate the best they have to their 
Lord. No Gothic architecture indeed is seen, with its paint- 
ed windows and " dim religious light :" for this, you must re- 
sort to Milan and study its magnificent Cathedral. And yet, 
when you wander through one of the Churches in Rome, 
you feel that Genius has writen on every side the traces of 
its presence. " Incense-breathing" Chapels are about you — 
and delicate carvings wrought out from the marble as if it 
could be moulded up at will — and all so rich and quaint and 
clerkly, that you scarcely feel the want of that solemn archi- 
tecture, whichln Northern Europe seems alone to be eccle- 
siastical. 

The mere literary man turns with the deepest interest to 
the Church of St. Onofrio, for the adjoining monastery of the 
hermits of St. Jerome is consecrated as the place where the au- 
thor of " Gerusalemme Liberata" breathed his last. Strange 
and sorrowful had been his pilgrimage through life ! At one 
time flattered at the most brilliant courts — then wandering 
through the land which was ringing with his genius, yet 
wayworn, unknown, and in poverty — then a prisoner in the 
dungeons of Ferrara — he had come at last to Rome, where 
it seemed as if he was to receive a reward for all his trials. 
He was soon to be solemnly crowned with laurel at the Capi- 
tol, yet ere the day for the ceremony arrived, there were 
symptoms that the springs of life were giving way, and he 
was conveyed to the monastery of St. Onofrio. 

In this garden looking over Rome, and blending, in the 
mind of one who gazes from its terraces, a sense of the pres- 



268 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

ent beauty of nature with a remembrance of the ancient 
glory of the city, Tasso was accustomed to sit. The poor 
monks will point out to you the very spot. It was there, 
where a noble oak once cast its shade, but three years ago 
an autumn storm uprooted it. In those cloisters is the room 
in which he died : and as you enter the Church, turn to your 
left, and you will see a plain marble slab, with the simple 
inscription — , 

ToRQUATi Tasso Ossa. 

And thus sleeps the first epic poet of Italy — a brilliant 
spirit, which with the customary reward of genius passed 
through life in sorrow and pain. Yet no poetic visions filled 
his mind, as in feebleness he paced the walks and cloisters 
of this old monastery. He had done with human praise 
for ever, and was girding up his spirit for the realities of the 
world to come. " I have come to this monastery of St. Ono- 
frio" — he wrote to his best friend, a few days before his 
death — " not only because the air is commended by physi- 
cians, as more salubrious than in any other part of Rome, 
but that I may, as it were, commence in this high place, and 
in the conversation of these devout fathers, my conversation 
in Heaven. Pray God for me ; and be assured that as I 
have loved and honored you in this present life, so in that 
other and more real life will I do for you all that belongs to 
charity unfeigned and true, and to the Divine Mercy I recom- 
mend both you and myself." 

We were wandering one morning about the Esquiline, 
when we found ourselves near the Church of Sail Clemente, 
probably the least changed from ancient times of any in 
Rome. The quarter of the city in which it stands is nearly 
deserted. Vacant squares — grass-grown streets — and moul- 
dering ruins, show how the wave of population has receded 
from the spot. Wishing a cicerone, we entered the Domini- 
can monastery adjoining the Church, but all there was as 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 269 

silent as it was without. We traversed the long stone pas- 
sages without meeting any of the monks, and at last deter- 
mined to explore the Church ourselves. The interior trans- 
ports us back at once to the early centuries of our faith. 
There, on an elevated platform, and divided from the rest 
of the Church by two gates, are the absis or tribune, the an- 
cient altar, and the Episcopal seat. In front is the marble 
enclosure having on the sides the ainbones or marble pulpits 
from which the Epistle and Gospel were read. The aisles 
terminate in two recesses, anciently called Exedrm or CellcR, 
and then appropriated to private devotion in prayer and med- 
itation. They are now converted into Chapels. This is 
probably the only Church which preserves the form of the 
old Basilicas. It is mentioned as ancient by authors of the 
fourth century, and though often repaired and decorated, 
has never been deprived of its primitive shape and fashion. 

Let us pass on a short distance and we come to the 
Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli. Its name and the chain 
sculptured over the portal give an explanation of its object. 
It is intended to preserve the chain with which St. Peter was 
bound when a prisoner in Jerusalem, and on the first of Au- 
gust this holy relic is shown publicly to the people. 

Much more interesting however to the visitor is Michael 
Angelo's celebrated statue of Moses, which is considered by 
many to rival the grandest productions of the Grecian chisel. 
It is colossal in its size, and represents him with that stern- 
ness upon his countenance which we may imagine was 
imprinted there when he rebuked the idolatry of his people. 
It was intended as one of forty statues which were to orna- 
ment the tomb of Julius II. The monument however was 
never executed, only five of the statues being finished at 
the time of Michael Angelo's death. Of these, three are in 
this Church — one is in Paris — and the fifth in the Boboli 
gardens in Florence, The Pope himself was buried in the 
Vatican, 



270 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

There is a peculiarity about this figure, which, majestic 
as it is, has often exposed it to ridicule. On each side of 
the head of Moses, a small horn is just budding forth. " One 
critic" — says Forsyth — " compares his head to a goat's ;" 
and we often see the same peculiarity in paintings of the 
Middle Ages. What does it mean? I have never seen any 
explanation given, but the following struck me as being a 
natural solution. In the original Hebrew the same word, 
fi'^inp, is used both for liorns and rays of light, and it was of 
course easy to confound them. When therefore it is said 
in Exodus xxxiv. 29, that as Moses came down from the 
Mount, " he wist not that the skin of his face shone," the 
Vulgate — the version of the Church of Rome — renders it — 
"Et ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua" — " and he did 
not know that his face was horned." It was this phrase 
then which probably led to the mistake, and accounts for 
the manner in which both painters and sculptors were accus- 
tomed to represent the Jewish Lawgiver. In our own ver- 
sion indeed precisely the same mistak-e is made with this 
word in another passage. In Habakkuk it says — " He had 
horyis coming out of his hand." It should of course be rays 
of light. 

We pass on to the magnificent Basilica of S. Maria Mag- 
giore, the noblest Church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin, 
and hence its name. It stands in an open square, and the 
exterior is richly ornamented, while the nave in the interior 
is nearly three hundred feet in length. The elaborately 
carved roof is richly gilded, and derives an additional inter- 
est from the fact, that the gold used was the first ever 
brought to Europe from Peru. It was presented to Alex- 
ander VI. by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Now and 
then the great services of the Church are performed in this 
splendid Basilica, as on Christmas Eve, when the Cradle of 
our Lord is carried in procession, and on the Festivals of 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 271 

the Assumption and the Nativity of the Virgin, when the 
Pope himself performs High Mass at its Altar. 

Just behind it however is a little Church not often visited, 
but which once in the year is the scene of some strange 
ceremonies. It is dedicated to St. Anthony, the patron of 
the brute creation, and every January when his Festival 
comes round, there is a service for their especial benefit. 
The first time I witnessed it, I was involuntarily a partici- 
pant to some extent in the ceremony. We were riding with 
a lady, when crossing the open square a priest in his surplice 
was seen standing on the steps of this little Church, while 
one carriage after another was driving up to it — stopping 
before him for a few minutes — and then passing on to make 
room for others. 

"What" — she inquired of the courier — "are they doing 
there ?" 

" Blessing the horses, Madam." 

" Then tell the coachman to drive up, and we will have 
ours blessed." 

So accordingly, up he drove. The servants reverently 
took off their hats, and the priest commenced reading a 
prayer from his book. When he had finished, he took a 
brush from the hand of an attendant, dipped it in a bucket 
of holy water at his feet, and sprinkled the horses, repeating 
the words — 

" Per intercession em Beati Antonii Abatis, hsec animalia 
liberenter, a malis, in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spritus Sancti. 
Amen." (Through the intercession of the blessed Abbot 
Anthony, may these animals be delivered from evil, in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen.) 

A small fee was handed to the priest, and we continued 
our ride. For several days this service is constantly going 
on. The following Sunday, however, was the great day. 
Then, the Square was crowded with animals, and thousands 



272 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

of people were there as spectators. The magnificent car- 
riages of the Pope, each drawn by six horses, and the 
scarcely less splendid equipages of the Cardinals and the 
Roman princes came up, to go through the ceremony. Long 
rows of post-horses arrived from different parts of the city, 
and the mules of the peasantry from the country, decked out 
in ribbons and flowers, while their masters were in all their 
best array. A friend told me, that on one of these days he 
saw a young man drag up to the Church door a miserable 
looking little dog, which he held by a string while the ser- 
vice was read, and the poor cur received his share of holy 
water. 

What is the precise meaning of this ceremony ? Or, 
what particular benefit are the animals expected to derive 
from this service, which seems like an inferior kind of bap- 
tism ? These are questions to which it is difficult to pro- 
cure definite answers. In " Geraldine" however — a book 
published in defence of the Church of Rome, and recom- 
mended by Bishop Kenrick, as " a work of great interest, 
directed to remove prejudice, and present the light of truth," 
— is a defence of this service, from which we make the fol- 
lowing quotation — 

"But what good did all the blessing and sprinkling do- 
the cattle, and their owners," said Miss Leonard, " when 
they left the good monk, just as vicious and distempered, as 
when they came to him ?" 

"That is indeed begging the question," said Geraldine ; 
"7 do not helieve that the cattle were so much so after the 
Messing as hefore.'^^ 

In another work of fiction also we lately found a rather 
more complete summing up of the benefits, as given by an 
Italian peasant — " Is it not a good horse which we have ? 
Then it has also had this year St. Antonio's blessing : my 

* Vol. iii. p. 40. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 273 

fellow decked him out with bunches of silken ribbons, opened 
the Bible before him, and sprinkled him with holy water; 
and no devil, or evil eye, can have any influence on him 
this year."* 

From the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, a broad deserted 
avenue leads to that of St. John Lateran. This section of 
the city indeed seems scarcely inhabited — an air of desola- 
tion pervades it — and the malaria reigns on every side. And 
yet a few centuries ago the Lateran palace was esteemed 
the most salubrious residence in Rome. Now, it stands 
deserted, and as we look around, we see open fields and 
vineyards among the decaying houses, and silent moss-grown 
squares. 

This magnificent Basilica was commenced by Constan- 
tino in the fourth century, he assisting with his own hands 
to dig the foundation. He had previously conferred upon 
the Church the adjoining Lateran Palace — so called from 
Plautius Lateranus, who was put to death by Nero for being 
engaged in the conspiracy of Piso — the beginning of those 
gifts to the Bishop of Rome, which drew forth the comments 
of Dante, when he thus lamented the system it originated — 

" Ah, Constantine ! to how much ill gave birth. 
Not thy conversion, but that plenteous dower, 
^ Which the first wealthy Father gain'd from thee.''*t 

For a thousand years this palace was the residence of 
the Popes — the scene of all the licentiousness and fierce 
feuds of the Middle Ages, which finally wearied out men's 
minds and prepared them to welcome the changes of the 
Reformation. The ceremony of taking possession of the 
palace is still the first form used after the election of the new 
Pope, although it has long ceased to be the Pontifical resi- 
dence. In 1693 Innocent XII. turned it into a hospital for the 
poor, and in the last year a portion has been set apart for a 

* The Improvisatore, vol. i. p. 296. t II Inferno, xix, 18> 



274 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Museum to receive those works of art for which no room can 
be found in the Vatican. 

The Church itself has always been regarded as the first 
of Christian Churches, and bears over its portal the proud 
inscription — Sacrosancta Lateranensis Ecclesia, omnium 
URBis et orbis Ecclesiarum mater et caput. Its Chapter 
still takes precedence over that of St. Peter's, and thus for 
fifteen centuries it has retained its privileges. 

The exterior of the building is of a ponderous yet sump- 
tuous architecture. It is however of that kind, overloaded 
with ornament, which seems to leave no definite impression 
on the mind. It has been truly remarked, that no one can 
look for half an hour at the simple Grecian temples at 
Psestum, without being able to make a rough sketch of them, 
while few of those even who have spent a winter at Rome 
could give on paper any idea of the front of S. Maria Mag- 
giore or St. John Lateran. The interior has a most imposing 
effect from the multitude of pillars which are seen, nearly 
three hundred being employed. There are five aisles divided 
by four rows of piers. Its decorations too are rich in the 
extreme, corresponding with the rank, antiquity, and magni- 
tude of the Basilica. The bronze tomb of Martin V. of the 
princely house of Colonna — the Corsini Chapel covered with 
the richest marbles and bas-reliefs and gems — and the Gothic 
tabernacle above the High Altar constructed in the fourteenth 
century to receive the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, which 
happened then to be discovered among the ruins of the old 
Basilica — are unsurpassed in magnificence by any thing in 
Rome. 

The devout Romanist visits this Church with reverence, 
on account of its multitude of precious relics. They are 
varied in their character, and certainly wonderful in their 
claims. There are divers pillars, some of which are from 
Pilate's house, and one belonged to the Temple at Jerusa- 
lem. It bears marks of the earthquake which took place at 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 275 

the Crucifixion, having been at that time split in two. Here 
is a piece of the table on which our Lord and his disciples 
leaned when they ate the Last Supper, and on that slab of 
marble the Roman soldiers cast lots, when they divided the 
garments of Christ. You cannot doubt the legend, for the 
stone itself bears the inscription — "Et super vestem meam 
miserunt sortem." The one however which the priest evi- 
dently shows with the highest degree of satisfaction is a mar- 
ble Altar, the very sight of which settles a theological diffi- 
culty, and should be sufficient to convert a heretic. A mir- 
acle — they tell us — was wrought upon it to prove the doc- 
trine of transubstantiation. A priest who had suffered some 
impious doubts on this point to enter his mind, was once 
standing before it consecrating the elements, when as soon 
as the prayer had been pronounced and the change taken 
place, the holy wafer fell from his hand and sunk through 
the marble, leaving the marks of blood as it went. The 
hole through which it passed, and the stain it made are both 
before you ! This miracle took place at Bolsena, and in the 
Vatican is a fresco by Raphael intended to illustrate it. On 
one side of the altar stands the priest for whose benefit the 
wonder had taken place, regarding the wafer with astonish- 
ment and reverence, while behind him are the choir boys 
and people pressing forward with awe and curiosity on their 
countenances. On the other side, Julius IL is kneeling in 
prayer, attended by his Cardinals and Swiss guards. 

But the student of Ecclasiastical History has better 
reasons to enlist his interest in this ancient Church. Five 
General Councils, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, 
met within its walls. In one of them which was held A.D. 
1215, were present the Patriarchs of Constantinople and 
Jerusalem, four hundred Bishops, and Ambassadors of 
France, England, Hungary, Arragon, Sicily, and Cyprus. 
Here too for many centuries the Popes were always elected, 



276 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

and thus from these walls proceeded that influence which 
was to be felt throughout the Christian world. 

These were the recollections which crowded our minds 
as we stood within this silent Church, where no sound was 
heard but the scarcely audible voice of a priest celebrating 
the Mass in a distant Chapel. And particularly we thought 
of the strange scene which took place when these arches 
rang with the name of Hildebrand, as he was thus suddenly 
summoned to the Pontifical Throne. It was on a morning 
of April, 1073, that before this High Altar stood the bier of 
Pope Alexander II. while the whole building was densely 
crowded with those who had come to witness the funeral 
services. The solemn requiem was wailing forth, and all 
were uniting in its petitions to commend the soul of the de- 
parted Pontiff to its Judge, when suddenly the softened strain 
was overwhelmed by a shout. None could tell by whom it 
was commenced, for it seemed to burst at once from every 
part of the edifice. The mighty crowd which had gathered 
there appeared to have but one voice. The cry was, " Hil- 
debrand." " Hildebrand shall be Pope." " St. Peter chooses 
our Archdeacon Hildebrand." In vain did the subject of 
this uproar rush from the funeral procession to the pulpit, 
and, by impassioned gestures, implore silence. Ten thou- 
sand voices echoed the cry — it swelled louder and louder — 
nor did it cease till a Cardinal came forward and announced, 
that " we, the Cardinal Bishops, do, with one voice, elect 
Hildebrand to be henceforth your spiritual pastor and our 
own." Eagerly was he hurried to the Pontifical Throne — 
arrayed hastily in the, scarlet robe and tiara — the Cardinals 
paid their obeisance — and the still louder shouts of the people 
hailed him as Gregory VII. Thus, on this spot was consum- 
mated an election, which was to result in crushing the feudal 
despotism of the age — wresting all sacerdotal power from 
the hands of the Emperor — and triumphantly asserting the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 277 

loftiest claims of the Hierarchy, until the Roman Pontiff be- 
came the ruler of the civilized world. Nearly eight centuries 
have since gone by, but the spirit of Gregory is living still in 
the Church of Rome. It bears in its whole organization the 
impress of his gigantic character. In every departmeut — in 
its very frame and groundwork — we can trace the influence 
of that tumultuous hour which then passed within these 
walls. 

We left the Church, and stood for some time on its steps 
looking at the deserted avenues and squares around it. 
Directly in front towers up an obelisk, the loftiest in Rome. 
It rises in the air nearly one hundred and fifty feet, a single 
shaft of red granite, covered with hieroglyphics. Rameses 
erected it in Thebes, and Pliny tells us that he lived during 
the Trojan war. A hundred and twenty thousand men had 
been employed in cutting it from its native quarry, and there 
for ages it stood, under the burning sun of Egypt, and among 
its massive temples. Strange and mysterious rites were 
performed around it — new creeds grew up — revolutions 
rolled on — dynasties passed away — and as the centuries 
went by, it beheld one kingdom after another crumble into 
ruins at its base. At length, the people who reared it ceased 
to be a nation — their antique faith vanished from the earth — 
and the land around became once more a desert. Then 
came an iron race from the distant West, and after years of 
toil it was removed to gratify the pride of a Roman Em- 
peror. Fourteen centuries have since passed, and we behold 
it now as fresh and unchanged as when it stood in the heart 
of Egypt, and the priests of Isis looked upon it towering 
above their Sacred Groves. It still bears upon its sides the 
chronicles of forgotten ages, but modern wisdom cannot deci- 
pher their strange characters. What a history could that 
old obelisk relate, and to what a mysterious and shadowy 
antiquity does it carry back the mind ! 

On one side of the Basilica stands the Baptistery, a small 

13 



278 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

octagonal building which is said to have been erected by the 
Emperor Constantine, and though frequently repaired, yet it 
has always been done in accordance with its original design. 
This account of its erection may be true, for it is the unva- 
rying testimony of tradition. Within it is a large porphyry 
vase which is always shown as the one in which Constantine 
received the rite of baptism. And yet, it is a fact proved 
by the authority of all Greek and Latin writers, that the first 
Christian Emperor was not initiated into the Church until 
sinking beneath his last mortal sickness, and then, the service 
was performed in a distant land. Theoderet says — " The 
Emperor was taken ill at Nicomedia, a city of Bithynia. 
Being thus led to reflect on the uncertainty of human life, he 
received the holy rite of baptism, which he had intended to 
have deferred until he could be baptized in the river Jordan.* 
And Socrates confirms it with his authority — " In the follow- 
ing year the Emperor Constantine was attacked with a dan- 
gerous malady ; he therefore left Constantinople, and made 
a voyage to Helenopolis, to try the effect of its medicinal 
hot springs. Perceiving however that his illness increased, 
he deferred the use of the baths ; and removing from Helen- 
opolis to Nicomedia, he took up his residence in the suburbs, 
and there received Christian baptism. ^'f This fact indeed 
has always been one of the mysteries of Ecclesiastical his- 
tory. More than twenty-five years had passed since he 
avowed himself a Christian, before he took the very first 
step in the profession of our faith. Was it from super- 
stition, because he believed that Baptism washed away all sins 
of the past, and therefore it was well to defer it as late as 
possible ? Or was it, because he did not wish to alienate en- 
tirely his Heathen subjects, lest in some unexpected emer- 
gency their allegiance should fail ; while at the same time 
the Christians who surrounded him, relieved from persecu- 

* Theod. Eccles. Hist. Lib. i. chap. 32. 
t 9oc. Eccles. Hist. Lib. i. chap. 39. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 279 

tion were willing to receive their Imperial convert on almost 
any terms, and therefore forbore too much to press this point, 
trusting that greater light would lead him naturally to adopt 
it ? As a fact, however, this delay of Baptism seems to be 
certain, and throws discredit therefore on the claims of the 
porphyry vase. 

But the use to which it was appropriated on the night of 
August first, A. D. 1347, has much more surely connected it 
with history. Then, the Tribune Rienzi watched through the 
midnight hours beside his armor, as was the custom of those 
who on the morrow were to receive the knightly order of the 
Santo Spirito, and from some strange association in his mind 
— so colored by the wild mysticism which Arnold of Brescia 
had inculcated two centuries earlier — he ordered his bath to 
be prepared in this vase which was looked upon as consecra- 
ted. But the Papal Court had no sympathy with such vision- 
ary superstition, and when the Tribune fell and was imprisoned 
in the dungeons of Avignon, this act of sacrilege was one of 
the strongest charges against him. 

On the other side of the Basilica is a noble portico con- 
structed by Sixtus V. and intended to cover the Scala Sania 
or Holy Staircase. This consists of twenty-eight broad 
marble steps, which tradition tells us are the identical steps 
once belonging to Pilate's house, and by which our Lord de= 
scended when he left the Judgment Seat. The marvel of 
course is, that they could have escaped the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and all the vicissitudes which for centuries befell 
the Christians. I find however upon consulting a Roman 
Catholic work, the legend is, that during the forty years the 
judgments which fell on Jerusalem were suspended, the 
Christians were on the watch to secure all the relics of their 
Master, and returning from Pella, after the siege, when ter- 
ror and confusion reigned, they concealed and carried away 
the precious steps. No one is now permitted to ascend them 



280 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

but on their knees, and an Indulgence of about two hundred 
and fifty years is promised to each one who accomplishes 
the feat, at the same time, " devoutly meditating on the Pas- 
sion." At whatever part of the day you are there, you see 
numbers going through the painful service. Men and women 
— people of rank and beggars-^-old persons and children — are 
toiling up, often quite exhausted before they reach the top. 
When they have gained the highest step, they stoop down 
and kiss a brass Cross inserted in the marble, and the penance 
is over. At one time indeed there seemed to be danger that 
the marble itself would be worn out by the knees of the 
countless pilgrims who availed themselves of the offers of 
Indulgence. By order of Clement XII. therefore, the steps 
were covered with planks of wood, which have been obliged 
to be renewed three times. 

Luther tells us of an incident in his own life which oc- 
curred on this spot. When the poor Saxon monk was in 
Rome, while his mind was in its transition state — disgusted 
with the superstitions around him, and yet not knowing to 
what else to turn — he determined to gain the Indulgence 
promised for ascending this staircase. While he was slowly 
climbing up, he seemed to hear a voice speaking from the 
depths of his heart, " The just shall live by faith." He 
started in terror from the steps up which he had been crawl- 
ing, and struck with shame at his degradation, fled from this 
scene of his folly. 

The little Chapel at the top contains a large number of 
relics, and is therefore so sacred that no woman is allowed 
to enter it. An inscription indeed states, that " there is no 
place more holy in all the world." Among these relics are 
some of the barley-loaves and fishes, part of the purple robe, 
and of the reed with which Christ was smitten. The most 
remarkable however is a very sacred painting, claiming to 
be a correct likeness of our Lord at the age of twelve years. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 281 

According to this portrait he was precisely five feet eight 
inches high at that age. It was begun by St. Luke, but 
leaving it for a time, on his return he found it miraculously 
finished. 

On each side of the holy staircase is a lateral one by which 
pilgrims can descend, and as these steps have not the same 
sanctity they may be ascended also in the ordinary way. 

There is one other church which deserves a brief notice. 
We rode out one afternoon to the Basilica of San Paolo fuori 
le mure, on the road to Ostia, about two miles beyond the 
Porta. San Paolo. Formerly, we are told, a portico supported 
by marble pillars and covered with gilt copper, extended 
the whole of this distance from the Gate to the Church, but 
no traces of it can now be seen. Tradition informs us, that 
the original edifice was erected by Constantino on this spot, 
where repose the remains of the apostle Paul. In the fourth 
century a still more magnificent one was built by the Em- 
peror Theodosius in its place, and thenceforth it became a 
spot to which every pilgrim to the Holy City turned his steps. 
Ancient writers indeed seem hardly able to find words with 
which to describe its splendor. They tell us of its five aisles 
— its lofty nave, two hundred and sixty feet long, and a hun- 
dred and forty wide — its pillars, a hundred and thirty-eight 
in number, and of such rare marbles and exquisite work- 
manship, that they were believed to have been transported 
from an Athenian temple described by Pausanias. Some 
were of porphyry, and others of that beautiful marble called 
pavonazzo — white, tinged with delicate purple. On the top 
of these pillars was the celebrated series of portraits of the 
Popes from St. Peter to Pius VII. Their true history seems 
to be, that they were commenced by Leo I. in the fifth cen- 
tury, who had his predecessors also painted. Before his 
time they are of course therefore imaginary, but afterwards, 
with some exceptions, they might have been genuine. 

But all this has long since passed away. About twenty 



282 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

years ago the church took fire, and the flames raged with 
such violence that the whole was entirely consumed, and 
even the splendid columns completely calcined or else split 
into fragments. The re-building however was immediately 
commenced on a scale which will be second only to St. 
Peter's, and large sums are constantly contributed by Princes 
and Sovereigns in all quarters of the world. The High 
Altar and transept have alone been finished, and many years 
will elapse before the nave is completed. Even as we saw 
it however, its magnificence is great, and the marble pillars 
are the most splendid we have ever seen. 

But except as a mere monument the Church will be ut- 
terly useless, for no one can live in this neighborhood of pes- 
tilence. It stands in one of the most deadly portions of the 
Campagna — the adjoining monastery of Benedictine monks 
has been for years almost deserted — and the road which 
leads to it from the city seems entirely unfrequented. Even 
the priests who minister at the altars, can remain but for a 
short time in winter. As soon as the spring approaches, they 
are obliged to fly from the deadly malaria. For whose ben- 
efit then has this sumptuous pile been erected, and from 
whence are to come the worshippers ? May we not also ask 
the question — "To what purpose is this waste ?" 

From thence the road leads on about three miles through 
low marshy grounds, until we reach the spot on which St. 
Paul is said to have been beheaded. It is related that such 
was the manner of his death, his right as a Roman citizen 
having freed him from the more ignominious punishment of 
the Cross. Here stand close together three Churches, which 
date from the early times of Christianity. In one of them, 
S. Paolo alle tre Fontane, are three fountains, which are said 
to have sprung up where the head of the Apostle struck and 
bounded three times. Though close together, the water is 
entirely different. In the first it is brackish and of a milky 
color — in the second it is less so, and in the third entirely 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 283 

pure. Here, too, are the same evidences of the malaria. 
There are but three priests to perform service, who in win- 
ter are relieved every week, and in summer merely go out 
to say mass. And yet, with all these precautions, two had 
died during the season. They looked languid and misera- 
ble, and said that rich generous living was prescribed for 
them, but one effect of the malaria was to take away all ap- 
petite. 

Such are a few of the Roman Churches. With our 
ideas we can scarcely imagine the effect often produced. 
We leave the bright glare of an Italian sun, and when we 
enter, find, instead, a subdued and softened light ; the im- 
mense building perhaps stretches out with five aisles and a 
perfect forest of Corinthian columns, the shafts of different 
colored and precious marbles. The ceiling is richly carved 
and gilt, while the pavement beneath is formed of mosaics. 
No pews obstruct the view, but we look through the whole 
immense length, and here and there, lessened by the dis- 
tance, see some priest gliding noiselessly along, or some 
worshipper kneeling at a pillar's base, with his face turned 
to the altar. There seems a strange stillness in the very at- 
mosphere — an impressive solemnity pervading the interior of 
the vast sanctuary. 

But whence came the means to erect these costly build- 
ings ? They were the free-will offerings which thousands 
made to their Lord — the donations of men who cared more 
for the glory of His house than for the splendor of their own 
residences. It is the fashion to call all this the fruit of su- 
perstition, but is it not thus too often that avarice and world- 
liness excuse their stinted avarice ? Whatever other motives 
may have mingled in their minds, they who thus sacrificed 
their worldly wealth showed a realizing sense of the life to 
come, and a belief that there is such a thing as " laying up 
treasures in Heaven." 



EXHIBITION AT THE PROPAGANDA.— FUNER- 
ALS.— VESPERS AT THE CONVENT OF SANTA 
TRINITA. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Near our lodgings is the College of the Propaganda, and 
we seldom pass it without seeing a Cardinal's carriage at the 
door. It was founded by Gregory XV. in 1622, and has 
since been justly regarded by the Church of Rome as her 
right arm of strength — the school in which are trained her 
missionaries for every foreign land. The building is vast — 
supplied with a magnificent library — and with a press by 
which books are printed in almost every known language. 
It is particularly rich in Oriental characters, and has pro- 
duced many works celebrated for their typographical beauty. 
The number of students — as I mentioned when speaking of 
the Epiphany services — is about eighty. It is of course a 
cherished and favored Institution. 

When in Naples we saw a branch of it, devoted entirely to 
the instruction of young Chinese youths. It was an extensive 
establishment, but bearing marks of decay, and evidently 
not kept up as it once had been. The saloon into which we 
were first shown was painted with representations in fresco 
of the martyrdom of some of the Jesuit missionaries in 
China. It was once a handsome apartment, but now had a 
dingy, unfurnished appearance. The pries who was at its 
head treated us with great politeness, senaing for all his 
pupils to introduce to us, and at his request they showed us 
the articles and utensils they had brought from their native 
land— read aloud to us from a Chinese book — and gave us 
our names written in the characters of their own language. 



288 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN KOME. 

The number at one time was large, but for some years has 
been gradually diminishing, and now only amounts to eight. 
One of these young men had' been in the Institution thirteen 
years, and one had just arrived. After some years' trainings 
they generally go to Rome for a short time, and then return 
as missionaries to their own country. 

The Examination has recently taken place at the Institu- 
tion in Rome, and was followed by an Exhibition very much 
like those of our College Commencements. It consisted of 
ssa ys, Poems, and Colloquies by the students, among whom 
were two from the United States. The Catholic character 
of the Institution is shown by the fact, that these compositions 
were in Jiffy -nine different languages and dialects. Cardinal 
Mezzofanti has since given me a programme of the exercises,, 
and I will copy the list of languages in which they were de- 
livered, to show the wide reach taken by the missionary 
operations of this Church : 

I. Ebbraico Letterale. XX. Esametri Latinf. 

II. Samaritano. XXI. Sanscrito. 

III. Etiopico. XXII. Concanico, 

IV. Caldeo Letterale. (by a student from Goa.) 

V. Siriaco. XXIII. Singalese, 

VI. Sabeo. (by a student from Ceylon.) 

VII. Copto. XXIV, Amarico. 

VIII. Greco Letterale. XXV. Angolano. 

IX. Armeno Letterale. XXVI. Caldeo Volgare. 

X. Ode Saffica Latina." XXVII. Ebraico Rabbinico. 
XL Arabo. XXVIII. Armeno Odierno. 

XII. Kurdo. XXIX. Greco Oderno. 

XIII. Persiano. XXX. Sonetto Italiano. 

XIV. Indostano. XXXI. Svedese. 

XV. Turco. XXXII. Dialogo Peguano, 

XVI. Maltese. (by two students from Pegu.) 

XVII. Giorgiano. XXXIII. Inno Italiano. 

XVIII. Norwegiano. XXXIV. lUirico. 

XIX. Dialogo Cinese Letterale, XXXV. Albanese. 
(by two students from Siam.) XXXVI. Polacco. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 289 

XXXVII. Sloveno. LI. Portoghese. 

XXXVIII. Bulgaro. LII. Catalano. 

XXXIX. Tedesco aiitico. LIII. Francese. 
XL. Tedesco Letterale. LIV. Terzine, 

XLI. Svvizzero. (by Sig. Cummings of Wash- 

XLII. Lingua Delia Rezia. LV. Siciliano. [ington.) 

XLIII. Olandese. LVI. Nizzardo. 

XLIV. Danese. LVIL Epigramma Latino. 

XLV. Inglese, LVIII. Dialogo Cinese Odierno, 

(by Sig. Elder of Baltimore.) (by three Chinese students.) 

XLVI. Scozzese. LIX. Linqua Originaria della Nuova 

XLVII. Celtico. Olanda. 

XL VIII. Irlandese. (by the Missionary Apostolic, 

XLIX. Chilese. and Vicar- General of N ew Hol- 

L. Spagnuolo. land.) 

I copy this as a curiosity. We often hear of the many 
languages spoken by the students in this College from all 
parts of the world, and here is an exhibition of what is really 
done. When shall our own Church be thus prepared to go 
forth with the pure Gospel to " all nations, and kindreds, and 
people, and tongues !" 



There are probably few communities in the world which 
can equal that of Rome in charitable associations. They are 
called Confraternities, and are formed by the voluntary union 
of individuals, often of high rank, who in the midst of all the 
wretchedness around them, devote a portion of their time to 
its relief. Many of these are never seen by the mere travel- 
ler, or their existence even suspected, for their sphere of la- 
bor is private, yet it would be difficult to estimate the amount 
of happiness they must diffuse. 

One Fraternity, for example, is intended to seek out hum- 
ble but respectable families who would not be likely to ap- 
ply for alms, and in some delicate way to relieve their ne- 



290 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

cessities. The members of another visit the hospitals, learn 
the situation of the patients, and often personally attend to 
them. Others visit the jails, and furnish comfort and sup- 
port to prisoners who are without friends or means. Others 
by voluntary donations pay debts which the poor have una- 
voidably contracted, and thus relieve their minds from 
trouble. Others seek the sick through the abodes of wretch- 
edness in the city, supply them with food, medicine, and pro- 
fessional assistance, and attend them through their illness. 
Others come in when the last hour is over, defray the ex- 
penses of the burial, attend to the performance of the reli- 
gious rites, and themselves bear the body to the grave.* 

Such are their self-denying labors for the relief of suffer- 
ing Humanity. The wretched need no other claim upon 
them, except that they share in a common nature. No " An- 
niversary" is required to awaken their flagging zeal — no 
" Report" is sent out on the wings of the press, to trumpet 
forth their doings to the world — no " List of subscribers" 
publishes their charities through the land. The members 
indeed scarcely know each other, for their visits are made 
in the dress of the fraternity, so that none can recognize the 
individuals. But year after year they labor on — uncheered 
by the voice of human praise — ^their good deeds known only 
to their Father who seeth in secret. 

Those who attend to funerals, we have frequently seen 
when engaged in the performance of this duty. They form 
that " Ancient Brotherhood" — as Rogers calls it — which ex- 
tends over all Italy. Men of the highest rank — laymen as 
well as priests — belong to it, and when summoned to this 
charitable work they go forth shrouded in white dresses, with 
high pointed cowls on their heads, veiling their faces, and 
leaving only holes for the eyes. There is something peculiar- 
ly ghastly in their whole appearance, so that when they 

* Eustace Class. Tour, iii. p. 5i>3. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 291 

"Walk behind the dead, "they seem" — says Corinne — "like 
the ghosts of those they follow." 

" There is much solemnity in funerals abroad, where the 
Church steps in at once, and takes possession of the deceased 
as under its protection, under the sanction of its religious 
authority ; and if it makes an exhibition, it is with authority 
— and this proclamation has holiness in it. All that is not 
ecclesiastical is kept out of sight. There is nothing inter- 
mediate betwen the deceased and the Church. The under- 
taker inteferes not, intrudes not here to spoil all. Death, it 
is true, reigns for the hour, but religion triumphs. The 
Church certifies the triumph, and the resurrection."* 

We have often had these feelings while in Rome, for 
there is nothing more striking there than their funeral pro- 
cessions. They always take place at night, when the dark- 
ness seems in unison with the service, and we have never 
met them passing through the streets, without being arrested 
by the solemnity of the scene. The corpse is generally 
borne upon an open bier — the head exposed, ghastly and 
white as marble — the feet too uncovered — and the light pall 
thrown over the body, showing plainly its shape and out- 
line. The hands are clasped upon the breast, as if the 
departed had died in prayer, and the attitude had been left 
unchanged. 

Every thing in the service is intended to be significant of 
the hour when the Dead shall rise again from the dust. 
The priests bear lights, to signify that immediately before 
the general Resurrection, " the stars shall fall from Heaven " 
— and the Cross, to denote that then "the sign of the Son of 
Man shall be seen." The mournful notes in which they 
sing the Penitential Psalms, declare that in that hour "all 
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him" — while 
the bells, which are heard ceaselessly ringing, call upon all 

* Prof. Wilson's Miscellanies, v. iii. p. 79. 



292 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

to pray for the peace of the departed soul. The bier is 
borne by these hooded Brothers, while other members of the 
Fraternity carry tall waxen tapers, which flicker in the 
evening wind and throw their light upon the corpse, deepen- 
ing the shadows, and bringing out every thing in bold relief. 
And as the solemn procession sweeps by, they chant in 
melancholy tones the funeral anthem — 

" Quantus tremor est futurus, 
Quando Judex est venturus 
Cuncta striate discussurus ! 

Turba mirum spargens sonum 
Per sepulchra regionum, 
Coget omnes ante thronum. 

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus 1 
Quern patronum rogaturus. 
Cum vix Justus sit securus V* 

There is something indescribably touching in the whole 
service, as we see the glancing lights at a distance, or hear 
their old monastic chants floating through the long dark 
streets. Sometimes the voices would have about them a 
sorrowful wail, as if lamenting the lot of poor humanity, 
and crying over him they were bearing along — " Alas, for 
thee, my brother !" Then would come a louder strain, 
swelling out like the surges of a far-off sea, partaking 

*" How shall poor mortals quake with fears, 
When their impartial Judge appears, 
Who all their causes strictly hears ! 

His trumpet sends a dreadful tone ; 

The noise through all the graves is blown. 

And calls the dead before His throne. 

What plea can I, in sin, pretend ? 
What patron move to stand my friend. 
When scarce the just themselves defend ?" 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 293 

even of a sound of triumph, as if they celebrated the Victory 
which one day the Dead should have over the Grave. And 
then, once more it would sink k^o a mournful note, and 
faintly you would catch the words of the solemn dirge they 
were hymning, as the wind bore to you the plaintive 
prayer — 

" Miserere Domine !" 



There can be no life more difficult than that which 
passes within a Convent. Its members enter, and are at 
once cut off from all intercourse with the outward world, 
except what they can have within the limits of the high- 
walled garden around them. The objects of deepest earthly 
interest they know, are the trees and flowers whose growth 
they watch, and the birds which pay them a passing visit. 
No changes come to them, except those wrought by the 
gradual approach of age, as with stealthy step it almost im- 
perceptibly draws nigh. No field of outward labor occupies 
their thoughts, but every thing is centered in themselves. 
And thus they go on through long years of solitary watch- 
ing — and mortification — and weariness — and perpetual 
prayer — un visited by any of those joys which gather around 
the path of social life — until at last they quietly lie down to 
their long sleep in the humble cemetery of the Convent. 

But if any have a pleasant lot, it must be the Sisters of 
the Convent of Santa Trinita. It is situated on the Pincian 
Hill, looking over the Avhole of Rome which rises beneath 
it, with its pinnacles, and domes, and towers. What a 
dreamy existence must its inmates pass, while every thing 
on which the eye rests invites to meditation ! The deep 
blue of an Italian sky is over their heads — the luxuriance 
of nature is around them — while at their feet are scattered 
the noblest monuments of ages that are gone. We had fre- 



294 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

quently been told that the most touching music to be heard 
in Rome was that of their Vesper service, but that some 
persons having lately misbehaved during its performance, 
an order had been issued to exclude all Protestants. For 
this of course we could not blame them. No one has a 
right to go into a foreign church merely to gratify his curi- 
osity, and then by levity interrupt the worship. However 
he may differ from them, he should regard their feelings for 
the sanctity of the place and the service. But the conduct 
of foreigners in Rome is generally in this particular very 
exceptionable. They seem to regard the most solemn rites 
and ceremonies of the Church of Rome as merely intended 
for their amusement, and act accordingly. There cer- 
tainly is nothing religious in their conduct, and the most we 
can say of it is, that it may be somewhat classical, for they 
take in a degree the place of the Chorus in the ancient 
Greek Tragedy, by continually making their comments 
aloud, and giving their opinion on whatever is going 
forward. 

Some of our friends had lately attempted to gain admit- 
tance to this service, but without success. We determined, 
however, to make the trial, and one afternoon walked up to 
the Convent. The chapel was closed, so we proceeded to a 
side door and boldly rang the bell. In a moment, a nun in 
her close white cap appeared at the little grating, and after 
reconnoitering us, inquired our business. We stated, that 
we came to attend Vespers; whereupon we were informed, 
that we could not be admitted, and the grating closed. We 
lingered about on the Pincian Hill, until a short time after 
seeing some persons ascend the steps who we supposed to be 
members of the Roman Catholic Church, we joined them and 
mingled with their party. Fortunately a different nun came 
to the grating, through which a brief conversation took place, 
when the door opened, and we all quietly walked in together. 

The upper part of the chapel was separated from the rest 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 295 

by a high grating, within which was the altar, while at the 
other end was a lofty organ gallery communicating with the 
Convent. In a few moments a priest with four or five attend- 
ants entered, and knelt before the Altar. Then a side door 
within the grating opened, and some forty scholars, their 
heads covered with white veils, came in, and after gracefully 
kneeling for a moment before the crucifix, ranged themselves 
on each side. In the high choir gallery we could just see 
the white caps of the nuns appearing above the railing. 

At length the service began. The organ played a few 
fitful notes, when a single female voice was heard from among 
the nuns, chanting in the most plaintive manner. It seemed 
indeed to wail out as if a funeral dirge. Others presently 
joined in, and the sounds sweetly filled the Chapel. They 
ceased, and instantly were heard the manly voices of the 
priest and his attendants, as kneeling like statues, with their 
faces towards the altar, they sang the response. Then came 
again those soil and melancholy tones from the organ gallery, 
and thus they alternated through the whole Evening Psalms. 
It was the only time in the service of the Church that we 
had heard male and female voices together, and the contrast 
was striking. I know not why it was too that the voices of 
these nuns sounded so plaintively, but they seemed in har- 
mony with the service, heard in the waning twilight, and the 
whole effect was deeply devotional. The tones at times 
seemed to be almost unearthly, as if they had been purified 
from the frailty of this lower world — the outpourings of a 
spirit utterly divorced from all the cares of this wearing life — 

" musical, but sadly sweet." 



Madame de Stael says — " Those who have not heard Ital- 
ian singing can form no idea of music. The human voice 
is soft and sweet as the flowers and skies. This charm was 
made but for such a clime : each reflect the other. The 
Italians have ever devotedly loved music. Dante, in his 



296 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Purgatory, meets the best singer of his day, and asks him 
for one of his delicious airs. The entranced spirits forget 
themselves as they hear it, until their guardian recalls them 
to the truth." And this view of Italian enthusiasm is correct. 
In other lands they may bring music to the highest point of 
perfect execution, but here they seem intensely to feel it. — 
The sweet sounds to which they listen enter into their very 
souls. And when, in addition, the sentiments embodied lead 
our thoughts on to the solemn realities of the Future, the 
strains fall upon the ear with a touching power of which 
words can give no adequate idea. 

But to return to the Convent Vespers. Besides ourselves, 
there were only about forty persons present, all of whom 
were undoubtedly members of the Church of Rome, except 
one English gentleman, who probably gained admission very 
much as we did. Their deeply devotional manner, as they 
knelt upon the marble pavement, contributed much to the 
solemnity of the scene. They were evidently not mere spec- 
tators, but worshippers. As the service proceeded, the twi- 
light deepened, the incense spread through the dark arches 
above us like a thin white cloud, and the only lights being 
the candles about the Altar, the rest of the Chapel was grad- 
ually involved in gloom. There was an absence of all that 
parade and show which generally mark the services of the 
Church of Rome, and altogether it was the most impressive 
one which we attended in Italy. For months afterwards we 
were haunted by the solemn melody of these tremulous, 
plaintive tones. They reminded us of those "spiritual crea- 
tures," whose songs, when " in full harmonic number join- 
ed," our first parents heard in the bowers of Paradise, " from 
the steep of echoing hill or thicket" — 

" Celestial voices 

Sole, or responsive each to other's note. 

Singing their great Creator !" 



THE ROMAN PEOPLE.— THE CIVIL GOVERN- 
MENT OF THE PAPAL COURT. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

It is the fashion to abuse the Italians. Travellers pass 
through the country, meeting only the custom house officers, 
the postillions, and the hangers-on at inns, and decide author- 
itatively on the worthlessness of the people. It is of course 
evident, that they see the worst portion, and can learn nothing 
of those traits of national character which lie below the sur- 
face. The first view is certainly not prepossessing. The 
traveller finds wretchedness on every side of him, and there- 
fore records at once a condemnation against the whole coun- 
try, which a little more time induces him to revoke. Such 
was the case with Shelley. Nothing can be more widely 
different than the opinion which he expresses of the people on 
first entering Italy, and that which we find in his letters only 
six weeks afterwards. 

And this is particularly the case in the Papal States. 
Your first greeting is from a crowd of beggars. In Tus- 
cany nothing of the kind is seen, and it proves therefore that 
the evil is the result of wretched government. During a 
residence of several weeks in Florence, we were scarcely 
ever asked for charity, and on our way through the country 
saw only an active, industrious population. The instant, 
however, that we once more crossed the frontiers and entered 
the territories of the Church, on our way to Bologna, the old 
scene was renewed, and the carriage surrounded by swarms, 
entreating relief in the name of the Madonna, and all the 
saints in the Calendar. 



300 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

In Rome itself we meet with apparently the most wretch- 
ed population in all Italy. There is no trade or commerce, 
and it seems as if half the people supported themselves by 
begging. Wherever you go, they gather around, and you 
have constantly dinned into your ears — " caritd, forestierV^ 
' — (charity, strangers.) They particularly collect on the 
steps of the Scala di Spagna, because strangers generally re- 
side in that vicinity, and there they lie in wait, wishing you 
" good morning," and for a hajoccho, adding to it a profu- 
sion of prayers for your welfare. In addition to the diffi- 
culty of finding any employment, this delicious climate pro- 
bably indisposes them to active exertion. Their maxim is 
-^ — " dolce far niente/' (it is sweet to do nothing,) and they 
make life one long siesta. It glides away in a graceful list- 
lessness — a dreamy, sleepy indolence — until illness or the 
feebleness of age warns them that they will soon have done 
with it for ever. Then, some Brotherhood nurses them in 
their last agonies, and buries them when dead. This state 
of things, it is true, cannot be pleasant to a stranger, for it 
brings constantly before him, misery, real or feigned, in 
every form, until there is danger lest his heart may at last 
become hardened against every exhibition. 

Robberies too are frequent. Almost the only light in 
the narrow streets is that which comes from the faintly 
twinkling lamps hung before the pictures of the Madonna. 
There is ample opportunity therefore for the assassin to do 
his work, and concealed in a dark alley or doorway, he 
waits to spring on the passer-by. With him the old demand 
— " Your money or your life " — means something. The 
former must be immediately forthcoming, or the latter is 
gone ; for the stiletto is sharp, and the arm that wields it 
skilful. Passengers therefore at night walk carefully in the 
middle of the street, looking around them with the cautious 
air of men, who feel that they are in an enemy's country. 
As it is, every week we have the tale of some murders com- 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 301 

mitted. No newspaper indeed records them, for it is the 
policy of government to hush up such proofs of its weak- 
ness, yet still they are whispered about as items of the daily 
news. In this respect Rome is a miserable contrast to Vien- 
na, where so admirable are the police arrangements, that a 
female mi^ht at midnight walk alone from one end of the 
city to the other without being insulted. 

These are things most obvious to a travellei'^and which 
interfere most with his comfort, but they are not to be charg- 
ed on the great body of the people. They are indeed hasty 
and fiery in disposition, but by no means cruel or sanguin- 
ary, and their crimes are very often the result of some sud- 
den and almost irresistible impulse. The man of whom 
you hear as having in a moment of passion taken life, per- 
haps gives himself up to agonies of mind infinitely worse 
than the scaffold, and then passes his remaining days in a 
monastery, to atone by bitter repentance for his sin. Such 
are the extremes of Italian character. 

Most travellers prefer the Neapolitans to the Romans. 
They are charmed with the light-hearted, merry air of the 
poor lazzaroni, or amused with the strange contrast in their 
traits. With scarcely any clothing, and no home nearer 
than the grave — -through the day lounging in the sun of their 
delightful climate, and at night sleeping in the grotto of 
Prosillippo, or any other shelter that is at hand — steeped to 
the lips in poverty, and with no prospect before them but to 
die in a hospital, and be buried like a dog in the Campo 
Santo — you would of course expect to find them reduced to 
the lowest state of brutal degradation. And yet, go out on 
the Mole of a beautiful day, and you will see a circle of 
these homeless wretches gathered around some reader, whom 
they have hired for a few grana to recite to them the Orlan- 
do Furioso of Ariosto, or the lofty strains of Tasso. All this 
of course fascinates a casual observer, but I prefer the Ro- 
mans.. They have less frivolity — more depth and solidity — 

14 



302 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

more of the haughtiness and reserve of the Spaniard — in 
short, more character than the Neapolitans. At the same 
time, they excel the French in sincerity, and the Germans 
in refinement. The knowledge of the arts which they im- 
bibe from their childhood with the very air they breathe, 
gives them a grace of mind and a degree of civilization 
which would surprise one able to look below the surface. 
The forms of expression too used by the lower orders have 
often an air of poetry about them, which contrasts strikingly 
with the uncouth speech and glaring vulgarisms of the same 
classes in Northern Europe. It is indeed customary with us 
to ridicule them for their superstitions, yet with the faith in 
which they are instructed would it not be a miracle if it 
were otherwise ? And besides this, should not the land 
which has witnessed Salem witchcraft and Mormonism — 
without mentioning countless other developments of fierce 
fanaticism — remember the line — 

" Mutato nomine, de te fabula narratur]" 

Those who know them best commend them for being 
kind-hearted and generous. Charitable w^e knoAv they are, 
and the manner in which they minister to the wants of those 
poorer than themselves, might teach a useful lesson to many 
Avho pride themselves on their refinement and purer faith. 
We refer here to the common people, for as a class they are 
far superior to their nobles. This indeed is the case through 
all Southern Europe, and even in Spain, where the claims 
of descent are still so much respected. There the Andalu- 
sian peasant is a much nobler being than his lord. 

How far the stream of Roman blood has remained un- 
mixed with that of the barbarians who in succession became 
masters of the city, we cannot of course tell. In one district 
of Rome, on the further side of the Tiber, live a peculiar 
race who probably more than any others retain the traits 
which are left of the ancient inhabitants. Thev are the 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROBIE. 303 

Trasieverini, boasting themselves the sole unmingled de- 
scendants of the old masters of the world. You can detect 
them any where by their noble figures and haughty bearing, 
as if they had the consciousness of being of a superior race. 
" In the tall forms and bold profiles of the Trasteverini 
women, the matrons of Rome might still discern their true 
successors, fresh mothers of new Gracchi ; and in the fiery 
eye of many a male in that wild Janiculum suburb, or 
among the fierce Montigiani, there linger yet unquenclied 
the lightnings before which client kings and suppliant am- 
bassadors were wont to quail."* They are most careful to 
prevent any intermarriage with those around "them ; no 
worldly temptation indeed seems strong enough to induce 
them to contract an alliance out of their own clan. Their 
dress is peculiar ; the men having a jacket of black velvet 
thrown over their shoulders, a crimson sash round their waist, 
and large silver buckles on their shoes ; while the women, 
particularly on fete days, are gaily attired in velvet bodices 
laced with gold, scarlet aprons, and their hair bi'aided in 
silken nets with large silver bodkins. Even their section of 
the city seems to be less changed than the rest. Their 
Churches are old temples but little altered — the bridges 
which connect them with the city occupy the same sites as 
those which were built two thousand years ago — and among 
them, they still point to one which has taken the place of that 
Horatius Coccles so gallantly defended. The inhabitants 
seem to have all the lofty spirit of those they claim as an- 
cestors, but there is no worthy object to which to direct it. 

Such then are the modern Romans, and we have given 
this sketch because we believe that degraded as we often see 
them, they possess within themselves the elements of better 
things. A wretched government has made them what they 
are. Crushing all enterprise, and discouraging any studies 
which may give evidence of an inquiring mind, what does it 

* F. W. Faber. 



304 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

leave to its subjects but a life of hopeless inactivity ? They 
have nothing to do-7-nothing for which to strive — nothing 
which it is possible for them to achieve. 

The time when Rome enjoyed its greatest prosperity was 
undoubtedly during the brief rule of the French. When 
they constituted it " the Department of the Tiber," almost 
their first act was, the formation of an Institute of twenty- 
four Professors. The abuses in the administration of justice 
were at once removed— asylums for assassins abolished — - 
murderers torn even from the altar to receive their punish- 
ment — and for the first time in many centuries, life began to 
be safe within the walls of the Eternal City. The fiery 
spirit of the Trasteverini impelled them to some outrage, and 
immediately a strong force crossed the Tiber — ^marched into 
their section — seized the ringleaders, and shot twenty-two 
when surrounded by their own clansmen. From that time 
there was the most perfect peace in the Trastevere. The 
feudalities of the nobles too were abolished, and the power 
of life and death on their estates taken from them. Prince 
Doria, it is said, at that time surrendered ninety fiefs, and 
Borghese as many, A pressure — the crushing weight of 
centuries of religious despotism — seemed to be removed from 
Rome, and a new life began to be breathed into its people. 

Nor did the antiquities escape their care. The column 
of Trajan — part of the Forum — and the Baths of Titus — 
were excavated under their direction, and more was ac- 
complished in a few months than had previously been done 
in a score of years. We have already mentioned — in de- 
scribing the Vatican — that one of Napoleon's great schemes 
was, to carry out the plan of Raphael and have a thorough 
exploration of all the ruins, the execution of which was 
only prevented by his fall. 

The Church too was cleared of the incumbrances by 
which it had been crippled for so long a time. This was 
effected by the sale of public lands, and when Pius VII. re- 
turned, he found that debts to the amount of millions had 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 305 

been liquidated, and in place of bankruptcy he had an over- 
flowing Treasury. 

Such was the state of things when the French rule end- 
ed. The old Government resumed its sway, and at once 
Rome glided back to the sixteenth century. If the wave of 
a magician's wand could in an instant transform England 
into what it was in the days of the Tudors, it would not be 
a greater change. Industry and energy only rendered their 
possessor liable to suspicion, and were of course seen no 
longer.* The countless Ecclesiastics who filled the streets 
under the old regime once more reappeared, and Rome be- 
came again what we see it now — the City of priests and 
beggars. 

From that time the people were again crushed down by 
the most grievous of all tyrannies — ^that which enchains the 
soul and the intellect, as well as the body. The most jealous 
surveillance is kept up — strangers are narrowly watched — 
the strictest care is taken to exclude all heretical works — 
and even scientific researches are discouraged. Politics of 
course never form a subject of conversation among the peo- 
ple, for they have no right even to have opinions on these 
points. The object seems to be to keep them in ignorance 
of what is passing in the rest of the world. Every little 
while the officers of the Police make a descent on Molandini's 
small circulating Library — which, by the way, is used al- 

* One result of this naturally was, the immediate formation of a new 
Papal debt. In 1831 it had increased to six hundred millions of Italian 
lire — more than twelve hundred thousand dollars — and it has since been 
steadily growing. In 1832 such was the exhausted state of the public 
Treasury, that a foreign loan was negotiated, one was imposed on the 
principal cities, the funds of some of the charitable institutions in Bologna 
were seized, and the land tax was increased a third : other loans were 
effected in succeeding years. No variety of expedient has been left un- 
tried, and yet the financial position of the government daily becomes 
more critical. 



306 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYBAYS IN ROME. 

most entirely by foreigners — and seize every volume which 
they consider exceptionable. Not a Prayer Book for the 
British Chapel can be kept for sale in the city, but all are 
obliged to be smuggled in the baggage of travellers. While 
we were there, there was a notice one morning at the Read- 
ing Room, that the last few numbers of the London Times 
could not be placed on the files. They contained something 
which the Government did not like, and had been seized by 
the Police. None therefore could be delivered from the 
Post-office, and the English had to go without the latest news 
from home. There is a little paper published several times 
a week, not much larger than a sheet of foolscap, but it is 
principally filled with notices of the Papal court. Festivals and 
Fast days. Services, Sermons, and Ecclesiastics. Any item 
of foreign news is generally with reference to the movements 
of some Royal family — that "the Emperor of Austria has 
taken up his residence for the summer at the Palace of 
Schonbrunn," or something equally important. And this is 
the intellectual liberty allowed by the Papal government. 
Can we expect any thing therefore from the people ? Our 
only wonder is that every spark of generous or lofty emotions 
is not long since trampled out, and finding them as they are, 
we do not feel prepared to assent to Dante's charge, when he 
describes them as 

" the people which of all the world 



Degenerates most."* 

Mazzini — one of their own exiles — thus describes his 
native land. " In Italy nothing speaks. Silence is the com- 
mon law. The people are silent by reason of terror, the 
masters are silent from policy. Conspiracies, strife, perse- 
cution, vengeance, all exist, but make no noise ; they excite 
neither applause nor complaint : one might fancy the very 

* II Paradiso, Cant. xvi. 1. 56. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLY DAYS IN ROME. 307 

Steps of the scaffold were spread with velvet, so little noise 
do heads make when they fall." 

Occasionally indeed there is an outbreak, but the Aus- 
trian troops march in, and their bayonets soon restore the 
cause of despotism. Yet beneath its surface the spirit of 
the old Carbonari still " lives, and moves, and has its being." 
That deep feeling of which the stern enthusiast, Arnold of 
Brescia — the plebeian Rienzi — and the patrician Stefano Por- 
caro, were in succession the developments, and which in later 
days burns in every page of Alfieri — is only biding its time 
to come forth in action. We met with individuals dispersed 
here and there who were writhing under the foreign yoke, 
and when they found we were foreigners threw aside the 
customary caution and gave utterance to their indignant 
thoughts. The society of "Young Italy" still exists in 
depths to which even an Austrian police cannot penetrate, 
striking its roots every where and reaching each rank of so- 
ciety. Its objects are — the expulsion of the Imperial troops 
and the liberation of Italy — its union under one government 
with Rome for the capital — and the reduction of the Pope to 
his spiritual duties as a Christian Bishop. Its members are 
often men, who like " the last of the Tribunes" look beyond 
the feudal forms of the Middle Ages, and feed the kindling 
fires of their minds by recollections of ancient Classic 
Rome. The very beauty of their land — rich in so many 
haunting memories — presents to them its ceaseless appeal. 
As. they wander among its antique monuments, the admoni- 
tus locorum awakens every noble impulse, and speaks to 
their souls like a clarion's voice. 

And we trust that one day the time will come, when from 
the plains of the soft Campania — the hoary relics of Impe- 
rial Rome — the sea-girt palaces of Venice — and the olive 
groves of fair Milan — shall burst one wild shout — the voice 
of a people rising in its might — the herald of returning free- 
dom. And then, when their magnificent designs are accom- 



308 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

plished, and the name of Italy is once more written among 
the opinions of the world, another Sismondi will be needed to 
continue her history, assnming for his work indeed a happier 
name than that which the last adopted, when he was forced 
to inscribe upon his title-page — " Italian Republics ; or the 
origin, progress, oxidi fall of Italian freedom J ^ 



THE PAPAL CHURCH. 



14* 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The theory on which the Roman government is founded, 
is a noble one — that of rendering every thing subsidiary to 
religion. The whole object and aim of the civil authorities 
is, the advancement of their faith. And since they are 
clothed with despotic power to accomplish this end, we should 
suppose they would wield an overpowering influence for the 
spiritual benefit of their people. Why is it then that igno- 
rance and degradation are so much the characteristics of the 
Roman populace, except that their Church does not well and 
worthily use the power with which it has been intrusted ? 

We would attempt however with diffidence the expression 
of an opinion on the religious state of Rome. It is most 
difficult in a foreign land to decide on the spiritual signifi- 
cancy with which the people invest their many ceremonies, 
or the degree of moral influence which these rites exert over 
them. Every thing is of course more prominently brought 
before us, than humble unostentatious devotion. Of the posses- 
sors of this spirit, the world knows not. Christ's true follow- 
ers are often His "hidden ones." Generally indeed we learn 
nothing of a system but its glaring abuses, and from these we 
form our estimate. We look, for instance, upon a monastery, 
but remember not how many fervent prayers ascend from its 
altars, or how many hearts in its gloomy cells may be dis- 
ciplining themselves by bitter penitence for the world to 
come. We think only of the corruptions of the system — and 



312 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

they are of course too great to allow us ever to wish for its resto- 
ration — yet may there not be many a spirit struggling through 
them, and in spite of every difficulty painfully winning its 
way on to purity and peace ? The latter is the suggestion 
of charity, which we too often forget. 

It is in this spirit indeed that those without her fold are 
too much accustomed to estimate every thing which relates 
to the Church of Rome. They look at her course through 
the Middle Ages, and denounce it all as one long period of 
evil and darkness. And yet at that time, the Church — 
changed as she may have been from her early purity — was. 
the only antagonist of the ignorance and vice which charac- 
terized the Feudal system. It was a conflict of mental with 
physical power, and by the victory she gained, the world 
was rescued from a debasing despotism, the triumph of which 
would have plunged our race into hopeless slavery. If the- 
Church substituted another tyranny in its place, it was a 
better one. It was something which acted on the moral im- 
pulses of man, and endeavored in its own way to guide him 
on to sanctity. No one indeed can read the writers of the 
" Ages" which we call " Dark," without feeling that beneath ^ 
the surface was a depth of devotion, and a degree of intel- 
lectual light for which they have never received due credit.* 
An isolated passage — or a brief allusion — discover perhaps. 
a thorough acquaintance with a truth, which we have been 
accustomed to consider utterly forgotten, until re-discovered 
at the time of the Reformation. Look at one single exam- 
ple of this in the poems of a Spanish cavalier, Don George 
Manrique, who was killed in the year 1479. Where in the 
present day can we find a clearer statement of one of the 
great doctrines of our faith, than is given in the following 
verse ? — 

* To any one who wishes to see the oft repeated stories of the igno- 
rance of " the Dark Ages" most ably refuted we would recommend Mait- 
land's " Dark Ages." 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 313 

" O Thou, that for our sin8 didst take 
A human form, and humbly make 

Thy home on earth ; 
Thou, that to Thy divinity 
A human nature didst ally 

By mortal birth, — 
And in that form didst suffer here, 
Torment, and agony, and fear. 

So patiently ; 
By Thy redeeming grace alone. 
And not for merits of my own, 
O pardon me !"* 

And yet, this was written years before Luther was born ; 
and it was a popular ballad in Spain, sung in the Castles of 
her Nobles, and in her peasant homes through many a re- 
tired valley, nearly half a century before the Reformation 
began. We mention this merely to show how erroneous is 
popular judgment on such subjects, and the necessity there 
is for estimating with caution the degree of intellectual or 
spiritual light possessed by masses of men with whom our 
acquaintance is necessarily very limited. 

There are however many practices of the Church of 
Rome, which are here constantly before our eyes, so utterly 
at variance with every principle of true Catholic faith, that 
the most enlarged charity cannot forbid our thorough con- 
demnation. Some of these — ^the relics and statue in St. 
Peter's, the face in the Mamertine prisons, the inscription on 
the Cross of the Coliseum, the services of St. Anthony's day, 
and the Santa Scala — we have already mentioned in previous 
Chapters. In the few following pages therefore we shall 
endeavor to speak of others which are most obvious. 

In this city the Church is always before us. Its Holy 
Days are enforced by law, when the shops are obliged to be 
closed, and all business is suspended. The magnificent 

* Longfellow's translation. 



314 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

carriages of the Cardinals constantly dash by — processions 
each day pass our windows, with their lighted tapers, chant- 
ing the service as they carry the Host, and all kneel on the 
pavement while they remain iii hearing. Wherever we 
walk, we find throngs of ecclesiastics of every kind. The 
pilgrim is here with his " sandal-shoon and scollop-shell " — 
the lordly-looking priest with his ample cloak and shovel hat 
— ^and long lines of friars, 

" White, black, and grey, with all their trumpery." 

In the city of Rome their number is estimated at one in 
twenty-five of the population, while in the whole Papal do- 
minions there are said to be (including nuns) nearly fifty- 
five thousand — certainly ten times the number necessary for 
the spiritual wants of the people. The support for all this 
army is of course drawn from the impoverished inhabitants. 

Of relics it is almost superfluous to write, for every 
Church has its abundant share of bones and ashes and blood 
of the Saints. In the Church of San Lorenzo we were shown 
the gridiron on which St. Lawrence suffered martyrdom, 
some of his teeth, and vials of his blood. In the Church of 
St. Praxides are marble panels on which are engraved a 
list of the relics they have preserved. It is too long for in- 
sertion here, but we make from it the following selection — 
A tooth of St. Peter — a tooth of St. Paul — -a. part of the blessed 
Virgin Mary's chemise — part of the girdle of our Lord — 
part of the rod of Moses — part of the earth on which our 
Lord prayed before His Passion — part of the sponge with 
which they gave our Lord to drink, and of the reed on 
which it was placed — part of the sepulchre of the Virgin 
Mary — a picture of our Lord which St. Peter gave to Pru- 
dens, the father of St. Praxides — part of the towel with 
which our Lord wiped His disciples' feet — part of the swad- 
dling clothes in which our Lord was wrapped at His Na- 
tivity — part of His seamless garment — three thorns from 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 315 

His crown — and four fragments of the true Cross. We have 
copied about one quarter : these however are sufficient to 
show the objects of reverence which are exhibited in every 
Churcli to the credulity of the faithful. 

One of the most fatal of their doctrines is that of Indul- 
gences. It seems to be expressed so broadly and unequiv- 
ocally, that there can be but one way of understanding it. 
Over the door of almost every Church is the inscription — 

InDULGENTIA PLENARIA QrOTIDIANA PERPETUA PRO VIVIS ET 

DEFUNCTis. In the Church erected above the Mamertine 
prisons is a long Italian inscription, of which we translate 
the following portion — " From a prison it was consecrated a 
Church in honor of the said holy Apostles, by Saint Sylves- 
ter, Pope, at the prayer of the Emperor Constantino the 
Great, and he gave it the name of )S. Pietro in Carcere, and 
granted every day to each one who visited it, one thousand 
two hundred years of indulgence, doubled on Sundays and 
commanded Festivals, and moreover every day the remission 
of the third part of sins. Gregory XIII. granted there 
plenary indulgence on the first day of August, from the first 
Vespers until sunset. Finally, Pius VI., in 1776, granted 
there every day the perpetual plenary indulgence for the 
living and the dead." lone day asked an ecclesiastic, what 
these things meant ? He went into a very elaborate attempt 
to explain them away, at the end of which I was no wiser 
than before. Either I was very dull, or he darkened the 
matter by a multitude of words. But these inscriptions are 
constantly seen on every side, and how must the common and 
uneducated classes interpret them ? Why, of course exactly 
according to the literal meaning of the words. 

The doctrine of Purgatory is brought before them with 
equal distinctness. The inscription at the Mamertine pris- 
ons, a portion of which we have given above, concludes with 
this sentence — " The altar of this Church of *S. Pietro in Car- 
cere is privileged every day forever with the liberation of 



316 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

one soul from Purgatory, for every mass which shall be cele- 
brated at the same." And in almost all the Churches are 
inscriptions like the following, which we one morning copied 
from over the altar in that of S. Maria della Pace — " Ogni 
messa celebrata in quest altare, libera un anima dal purgato- 
rio." Saying masses is indeed sometimes the only support 
of unbeneficed priests. They are in readiness to perform 
this duty for any who wish it, and thus contrive to gain a 
precarious living. The price for a mass is from three to 
four pauls — that is from thirty to forty cents. This dis- 
graceful traffic in sacred things shows that Rome has not 
improved, since Dante referred to it as the place, 

" Where gainful merchandise is made of Christ 
Throughout the livelong day."* 

The Rev. Dr. Jarvis, in a work — " No union with Rome" 
— published a few years since ; has a passage showing how 
much an individual by a little bodily labor can do before 
breakfast, to gain remission of his sins ; and from an ac- 
quaintance with the places mentioned, we can confirm the 
feasibility of the plan. "At sunrise he might kiss the Cross 
in the Coliseum, and obtain two hundred days' indulgence in 
a moment. He might hurry to the Church of St. Pudens 
and St. Pudentiana, and during a half hour's mass, secure 
to himself three thousand years' indulgence, and the remis- 
sion of a third part of his sins. Returning by the way of 
Ara Cceli, he can recite the litanies of the most blessed Vir- 
gin at the altar of her who by Papal authority is called the 
REFUGE OF SINNERS, and he has two hundred days more of 
indulgence, which he may either keep himself, or kindly 
give to one of his dead friends. If he has three pauls 
(thirty cents) in his pocket, he may exercise his charity 
towards that friend still further, by having a mass said ex- 

* II Paradiso, Cant, xviii. 1, 50. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 317 

pressly for his soul by one of the monks or any other priest, 
and thus deliver it at once from the torments of Purgatory, 
Crossing thence to the Mamertine prison he may gain twelve 
hundred years' indulgence^ or on a Sunday or Festival 
morning, two thousand four hundred years, and the remis- 
sion of another third part of his sins. Here, also, if he has 
another thirty cents to spare, he can pay for another mass, 
and liberate another friend from purgatory. Thus he may 
before breakfast, every day of his life, obtain for himself at 
least more than four thousand three hundred years' indulg- 
ence, and the remission of two thirds of his sins, with only 
a little bodily labor ; and for the expense of sixty cents he 
may liberate two souls from purgatory." 

While such corruptions exists is it not natural that unbe- 
lief should be rife ? The fear of the Inquisition may indeed 
prevent its open declaration, yet still it poisons the very 
fountain of faith, and changes men into formal hypocrites. 
The educated ask. Can this be the religion of Christ ? It re- 
quires but a faint glimmering of reason to answer in the 
negative, and knowing nothing to substitute in its place, they 
fall into the coldness of skepticism. We believe that the ex- 
ternal city well typifies the actual condition of the Papal 
Church. On every side we see decrepit, faded grandeur, 
the evidences of a mighty power which in past centuries 
had here its home, but which has now utterly passed away. 

The most fearful picture of religion in Rome is that given 
by Mazzini. He writes indeed with the bitterness of an 
exile, and we should therefore feel inclined to soften some 
expressions and strike out some sentences of sweeping con- 
demnation ; yet as a whole, we fear there is too much truth 
in his view. " Conceive the state of a creed-distrusting 
people, curbed, domineered, overburdened, by an army of 
priests manifesting faith only in force, who surround them- 
selves with Swiss and Austrian bayonets, or, in the name of 
Christ, muster brigands from the galleys ! Religion — I speak 



318 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME, 

of Papal Catholicism — is, in the Roman States more than 
elsewhere, lifeless ; lifeless in the educated classes as a con- 
sequence of the enlightened age ; lifeless in the people as 
wanting a symbol — as wanting a something representative. 
Who in that country is ignorant, that the nomination of 
Christ's Vicar depends on ambassadorial intrigue, and that 
the direct or indirect Veto of Austria, of France, or some 
other power, throws into nonentity the so termed chosen of 
the Holy Spirit ? Who is ignorant that long since the King 
strangled the Fope ; that diplomacy masters theology ; that 
the notes of foreign plenipotentiaries, have inspired Briefs to 
the clergy of Poland and the Bishops of Ireland ? Which 
motu-proprio of a Pope but insults the infallihility of his pre- 
decessor ? Who in the provinces but can point to the agents 
of the Prelate-Governors, shamelessly trafficking in all that 
can bring money to themselves or their masters ? How, 
dizzied in this whirlpool of scandal, of hypocrisy, of dilapida- 
tion, can man preserve his faith intact ? By a deplorable 
but too natural reaction, negation, materialism, doubt, day 
by day ingulf fresh souls. Nought of religion survives but 
forms, outward shows, and observances, compelled by law. 
It is compulsory that men should communicate at Easter ; 
it is compulsory that the youth of schools and universities 
should be present at Mass each day, and communicate once 
a month ; it is compulsory that public officers should take 
part in services termed religious. Such is religion in the 
Papal States." 

This is the dark side of the Church of Rome, and we 
write it in sorrow that any branch of the Church of Christ 
should ever have given occasion for such comments. Very 
many however there must be who are not subject to these 
charges, and who in spite of their doctrinal errors and the 
dogmas of a perverted theology, seem to exhibit in their own 
characters the highest principles of faith. Their lives are 
marked by austerity, and self-denial, and ceaseless devotion. 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 319 

Unless it were so, they could not send forth works character- 
ized by so elevated a tone of religious life — breathing a spirit 
of abstraction from this world, and a longing for the realities 
of that which is to come, almost unearthly in its nature. 
Nor can these productions be read by the people, and become 
familiar to their minds, without leaving some holy impress. 
Take, for instance, this little Latin Hymn, with which they 
are well acquainted, and how lofty is its tone ! It is ascribed 
to St. Francis Xavier, whose Missionary labors in the East 
gained for him the title of Apostle of the Indies. 

" O Deus ! ego amo te : 
Nee amo te, ut salves me, 
Aut quia non amantes te 
^terno punis igne. 

Tu, tu, mi Jesu, totura me 
Amplexus es in Cruce. 
Tulisti clavos, lanceam, 
Multam que ignominiam : 
Innumeros dolores 
Sudores et angores, 
Ac mortem : et hcEc propter me 
Ac pro me peccatore. 

Cur igitur non amem te 
O Jesu amantissime 1 
Non ut in ccbIo salves me, 
Aut ne seternum damnes me. 
Nee proemii ullius spe : 
Sed sicut tu amasti me. 
Sic amo et amabo te : 
Solum quia Rex meus es, 
Et solum quia Deus es. Amen." 

We subjoin the following translation, without knowing to 
whom it is to be ascribed. It is however quite literal. 

" O God ! my spirit loves but Thee, 
Not that in Heaven its home may be. 
Nor that the souls which love not Thee 
Shall groan in fire eternally. 



320 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

But Thou on the accursed tree 
In mercy hast embraced me. 
For me the cruel nails, the spear. 
The ignominious scoff didst bear. 
Countless, unutterable woes — 
The bloody sweat — death's pangs and throes — 
These Thou didst bear, all these for me, 
A sinner and estranged from Thee. 

And wherefore no affection show, 
Jesus, to Thee that lov'st me so ? 
Not that in Heaven my home may be. 
Not lest I die eternally — 
Not from the hopes of joys above me : 
But even as Thyself didst love me. 
So love I, and will ever love Thee : 
Solely because my King art Thou, 
My God for ever more as now. 

Amen." 

That the mind from which such lines emanated must 
have been tuned to a lofty devotion, none can doubt ; but 
when his words are adopted as a portion of the literature of 
a people, and sink into their hearts, we consider it an evi- 
dence that there are many in whose deep religious feelings 
the sentimen'^s themselves have found a ready echo. With 
such it has been my good fortune sometimes to meet — men 
who in their self-denying zeal and earnestness of spirit, might 
have stood by the side of Xavier himself. And I was always 
glad to avail myself of the opportunity to see and converse 
with those who differ from us so widely — to learn the extent 
of the gulf which separates us — and to hear their views 
stated by themselves. 

This high character common report gives to Padre J., 
with whom I became acquainted in Northern Italy. He is 
a Jesuit, and, we were told, one of the most influential of his 
Order in Europe. Brought up in the army of France, he 
attained high rank under Napoleon, before he abandoned his 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 321 

profession for the priesthood. He is thoroughly versed in all 
the schemes of his Order, and is usually regarded as Keeper 
to the conscience of the King in whose dominions he now 
lives. Yet every where I heard a tribute paid to his devo- 
tion and zeal, and if he is at times mixed up with the intrigues 
of states, it seems to be done without any sacrijfice of those 
higher qualities for which we should chiefly look in the Ec- 
clesiastic. Although eighty years of age, " his eye is not dim, 
nor his natural force abated," and no one from appearance 
would judge him to be more than sixty. 

The greater part of the morning before I left the city in 
which he resides, was spent in conversation with him. Meet- 
ing in the sacristy of the Church attached to his monastery, 
he invited me to his room. We went up through the long 
stone galleries, seldom trodden by Protestant feet, passing 
occasionally a monk who was walking slowly back and forth, 
apparently absorbed in the book be held in his hand. The 
cell of Padre J. contained only what was absolutely neces- 
sary. There were his little bed and table — the picture and 
Crucifix — the few books he used — and besides these, we saw 
only naked walls and the hard stone floor. The day was 
cold, yet there was no fire to warm the room — nothing but 
the little chafing dish of ashes and of coals, which the old 
man held in his lap, and over which he spread out his hands 
as he talked. His face beamed with animation as he expa- 
tiated on his Church, and spoke of the cheering signs he dis- 
cerned in France, which he trusted would strengthen until 
that land was redeemed from skepticism, although he him- 
self could never live to see the consummation. 

We mention this interview, because the conversation was 
a fair example of what such discussions must always be with 
members of the Church of Rome. They invariably turn upon 
a single point. The Padre quoted to me that declaration in 
the Athanasian creed — " Whoever will be saved, before all 
things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith." This 



322 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

of course no one is inclined to deny, but it opens before us 
the wide inquiry — What is the Catholic faith ? and this only 
carries us one step farther back, which is to the question — 
" What is the Catholic Church ?" Here at length we reach 
the separating point, on which we differ as widely as the 
poles. And this will always be found to be the gist of the 
argument. It will ever turn upon the inquiry — " Are we or 
are we not, a portion of the true Catholic Church '? 

One claim by which the old Padre attempted most ear- 
' nestly to fortify his position, was that of modern miracles for 
the Church of Rome. The occurrence of these he insisted 
on as proofs that she was the Church. He dwelt particularly 
upon one, with which he assured me he was personally ac- 
quainted. It was the recovery of the daughter of the gov- 
ernor of Nice, who had been confined to her bed for months 
with a diseased limb. At length mortification commenced 
and she was about to submit to amputation, when through 
the prayers of a friend offered up to a certain saint, she was 
instantaneously cured, and able to rise at once in perfect 
health. Of course, the only answer I could make was — 
" That all this depended on the question of facts." This 
however is a favorite argument with the members of the 
Church of Rome. The gift of miracles remaining in the 
Church is something tangible, and they are very apt there- 
fore to bring it forward in support of their lofty claims. 

Italy of course abounds with the records of modern mira- 
cles. Many undoubtedly are the effect of imposture, but 
many more owe their apparent existence to a more innocent 
cause. In this Southern clime the warm and glowing im- 
agination of its children renders them disposed to receive 
impressions of the marvellous, with a facility of which the 
cold and cautious sons of the North know nothing. Their 
tendency also to figurative language and exaggerated de- 
scriptions, often induces them to clothe a common occurrence 
in language which conveys a very erroneous impression to 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 323 

the hearer. Thus the narrative of any event, seemingly 
strange, after passing through a few hands easily grows into 
a miracle, and is chronicled accordingly. This is in some 
measure the .philosophy of the subject as I once heard it 
given by an Ecclesiastic, and several of his illustrations were 
so new to me, that it may be worth while to give them, as 
far as possible, in his own words. 

"Many of these reputed miracles " — said he — "are mere 
types of qualities which existed in the individuals to whom 
they are ascribed, and which are thus shadowed forth by 
sensible images, or they are figurative descriptions of actual 
events. For example — in one of the towns of Italy a house 
is pointed out, in which some half century ago a wandering 
friar applied to the family for alms. Being rudely repulsed, 
he went into the kitchen, where a brace of pheasants were 
roasting before the fire. He made over them the sign of the 
Cross, when at once they slid off the spit, clothed themselves 
with feathers, and flew away. Thus at least runs the 
legend. Now, to you this undoubtedly seems a ridiculous 
fable ; to me, on the contrary, 'it is a most edifying story. I 
strip it of the figurative language, and this history remains. 
That family was probably known to be deficient in the virtue 
of charity, and Providence brought misfortunes upon them. 
The pheasants represent the superfluities and luxuries of 
life, and by their departure we learn, that the riches of these 
churls 'made to themselves wings and flew away.' This 
v/as their retribution, and the narrative comes to us as an 
allegory." 

"So it was" — he continued — "often in England. St. 
Dunstan had a quarrel with Edwy, because that King had 
married Elgiva, his relative within the prohibited degrees. 
After a long contest the Saint gained the day, and the King 
was forced to yield. The common people — whose sympa- 
thies, in that rude age, were all with the Church — hailed it 
as a triumph. The King had been forced to forego 'the 



324 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

lusts of the flesh.' St. Dunstan had conquered the Evil 
One. Thus they spoke of it as a battle with Satan, and in 
the next generation, by means of the figurative language in 
vrhich tradition gave it, the conflict, in their belief, passed 
into a real and personal one. Their champion had actually 
encountered and routed the Devil. And as stories which 
are thus handed down never lose, we now have the legend, 
that St. Dunstan ended the contest, by seizing the Devil 
with a red-hot tongs. So it is with all his life. Read the 
marvels which the old monkish chroniclers have given us 
about him, and you can reduce them all down to some such 
basis of common sense." 

We give this exposition for its singularity, leaving the 
reader to decide on its value as elucidating the legendary 
lore of the Church of Rome. 

And yet, amid all the ignorance and superstition which 
prevails in this land, there are reflecting minds sighing for 
a purer faith. They would not desert their Church, but 
they see her errors, and would have her re-modelled in ac- 
cordance with Catholic truth. They realize that she has 
borne herself too loftily, and would wish her therefore lay 
aside her temporal claims, and in lowliness of mind de- 
mean herself as she ought — changing too their Pontiff" to a 
Christian Bishop, that he may no longer be induced, while 
the Lord tarries, to forget his duty to his fellow serrants, and 
to tyrannize over them. These are views which we have 
often heard expressed. On one occasion we travelled for 
some time with a gentleman from Milan, who had reasoned 
himself out of the errors of his Church, and into a Creed es- 
sentially Catholic. But for the present he did not dare to 
show that he had abandoned any of the old landmarks. 
And there were many — he said— who shared his senti- 
ments. 

May we not hope then that the time will come, when, 
within the bounds of their own Church, they will feel 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 3*25 

every aspiration gratified — faith have room for its exercise — 
and Catholic truth recognize her once more as its champion ? 
How nobly would all that is pure, and holy, and of good re- 
port, advance in this apostate earth, if Rome could throw 
aside her errors, and lend her mighty influence to the cause ! 
She still retains those ancient Creeds, which were acknow- 
ledged in Primitive times, and are now held by all Catholic 
Christendom. The great truths she teaches are the truths 
for all ages — the awful Verities for which confessors and 
martyrs in early days were willing to die. The errors she 
mingles with them are the dogmas onlv of her single Church 
— which particular times and schools have grafted on her, 
and which she has unfortunately retained. How earnestly 
therefore should we pray, that the hour of her awakening 
may come — when, leaving her relics to moulder in their 
forgotten shrines — putting from her all narrow sympathies — 
restoring her doctrines to the model of early times — and 
uniting at length with those who have retained the faith in 
its purity, the long separated branches of Christ's Church 
shall be able to go forth together to reap the harvest fields of 
the Cross ! Then shall the Church become in reality that 
august spectacle which floated before the glowing vision of 
St. Augustine, when on the distant shores of Africa and 
amidst the expiring throes of Paganism, he sent forth his 
" City of God," to hail with all the treasures of his match- 
less eloquence, that universal dominion which he knew would 
be her heritage. This is the consummation which poor Hu- 
manity is earnestly desiring. The world is wearying of 
strife, and more and more with hope and love and oft- repeated 
inquiry, is craving the return of Christian Unity. In every 
land we feel the mighty beatings of this intense desire with 
which the heart of our race is filled. 

But we must close this chapter. We have through this 
volume spoken of the Papal Church, honestly and truly, as she 
seemed to us, expressing the admiration we feel for the many 

15 



326 THE CHEISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

Catholic traits she retains — her charitable institutions for the 
relief of every kind of misery — her broad and expansive 
views, looking over the whole earth as the field of Christian 
labor — and the solemn beauty of so many of her services, 
appealing at once to the deepest cravings of the heart by 
their holy teaching, or raising the soul above this earth by 
the austere hymns received from early days. But the view 
is one of mingled darkness and light. We have been forced 
therefore to speak also of fearful errors perverting the truth, 
and of countless ceremonies marring the effect of her noblest 
services, till he who studies them in the Missal, scarcely 
recognizes them when performed amidst the pomp of her 
old Cathedrals. We can have no sympathies then with 
Rome while she remains unchanged, but turn from her with 
renewed happiness to the stern purity of our own Church. 

" I love thee, nor would stir 



Thy simple note, severe in character, 

By use made lovelier, for the loftier tune 
Of hymn, response, and touching antiphone, 

Lest vve lose homelier truth." 

He must be unsettled indeed in the first principles of his 
oAvn belief, who can decide otherwise, or gather from a study 
of the Papal Church any feeling but that of thankfulness to 
old English Reformers, because they were willing to peril 
their lives even unto death, to defend the purity of the faith. 
" If first thou be well grounded" — says Fuller, in his usual 
quaint way—" their fooleries shall rivet thy faith the faster, and 
travel shall give thee Confirmation in that Baptism thou didst 
receive at home." 

But are there some who are unwilling to recognize any 
thing good within her fold, and feel therefore as if we had 
not been thorough enough in our condemnation of Rome ? 
We would say to them — it is not a pleasant office for the chil- 
dren of the Peacemaker to be widening those gulfs which even 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 327 

now separate them so much from each other. We have indeed 
condemned where truth required it, but dwelt with regret on 
these portions of our subject, for we remember that we too 
as a Church have our grievous sins, which might well hush 
every whisper of self-complacency. Widely then as we 
differ from Rome, we would speak of her with no feelings 
but those of the deepest sorrow, that such a mighty influence 
should be lost to the cause of truth. Let it be, as when in 
ancient Israel one of her tribes came not up in the day of battle, 
the prophetess declared, that for their defection " there were 
great searchings of heart." And should another reason be 
asked, we would quote to him who demands it, the words in. 
which a poet of our own day inculcates the true Christian 
temper, and the remembrance of which has often restrained 
the pen, when we would have written words of bitterness — 

" Thou to wax fierce 

In the cause of the Lord, 
To threat and to pierce 

With the heavenly sword ! 
Anger and zeal 

And the joy of the brave, 
Who bade thee feel, 

Sm's slave. 
The altar's pure flame 

Consumes as it soars 
Faith meetly may blame. 

For it serves and adores. 
Thou warnest and smitest ! 

Yet Christ, must atone 
For a soul that thou slightest — 
Thine own." 



FAREWELL TO ROME. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The time of our departure draws nigh, and we must soon 
bid adieu to the Eternal City. Pleasant indeed have been 
the days of our sojourn here ! Crowded with scenes which 
could not but awaken the deepest interest, they went by like 
the " Days of Thalaba." We have been living for a time 
in the shadowy Past. The remembrance of distant ages, 
whose traces are preserved only in dim tradition, came 
thronging on us at every step. It was moving back the 
shadow upon the old Dial plate of Time. It was summoning 
up from the depths of our own minds the memory, long in- 
distinct, of deeds which moved the world, and here on the 
spot where they were acted, investing them with a reality 
and life. We look at what Rome has been in the days of 
the Republic and in the splendour of her Imperial sway, and 
then seek out the footsteps of these mighty Ages, in the fading 
greatness which still remains. And every where we trace 
them still unefFaced. The Mistress of the world indeed stands 
before us like Milton's Apostate Angel, whose 

" form had yet not lost 
All her original brightness, nor appear'd 
Less than archangel ruin'd, and the excess 
Of glory obscured." 

We have been once more to St. Peter's to take another 
look at that unequalled temple, and from the brow of the 
Pincian Hill for the last time have seen the sun set over this 
array of domes and towers. How beautifully it goes down 



332 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROBIE. 

in the cloudless sky, pouring a flood of golden light upon the 
mighty city ! Gradually the purple fades from the moun- 
tains, and the transparent azure above is exchanged for the 
deeper blue of the evening sky, gemmed by a thousand stars. 
We sat there, with no one near us, to watch the changing 
lights and shadows. A death-like calm — an air of dreamy 
repose — rested on the city at our feet. The idle loiterers 
had left the Hill, and we saw only its statues and obelisks, 
and works of antique art, mingling with the deep green of the 
foliage. As we looked upon the scene spread out in beauty 
around us, there seemed to be within our sight a glorious group- 
ing of all that is exquisite — the loveliness of present nature 
mingled with the noble associations which the past has be- 
queathed to us from a remote antiquity. The fading light 
spread over it a bewitching softness — a mellowing and blend- 
ing of every tint and colour, which words cannot describe and 
which only Claude could have painted. And while the twi- 
light deepened, there came faintly from the neighboring 
Convent the sound of solemn music, and the stillness around 
us was broken by the Evening Hymn to the Virgin : — 

" Ave, Regina coalorum, 
Ave, Domina angelorum 
Salve radix, Salve porta. 
Ex qua mundo lux est orta ; 
Gaude Virgo gloriosa, 
Super omnes speciosa ; 
Vale, O valde decora, 
Et pro nobis Christum exora."* 

* " Hail Mary ! Queen of Heavenly spheres. 
Hail, whom th' angelic host reveres ! 
Hail fruitful root ! Hail sacred gate, 
Whence the vi^orld's light derives its date ; 
O glorious Maid, with beauty blest ! 
May joys eternal fill thy breast ! 
Thus crown'd with beauty and with joy, 
Thy prayers for us with Christ employ." 



THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 333 

But what is to be the destiny of Rome ? Is she to be the 
centre of Christendom, and age after age the place to which 
pilgrims from every land shall direct their steps ? Is she 
entering on a new dominion — the third cycle — in which she 
is to rule the world by Arts as once she did by her arms, and 
then by her faith ? There is another thought which has in 
it something affecting and solemn. The malaria is increas- 
ing, so that large portions of the city which a century ago 
were famed for their salubrity, are now uninhabitable. At 
the Lateran, the Pope has been obliged to leave his palace, 
and the humble dwellers around him their abodes, so that 
the tall grass waves in those wide squares, and an unbroken 
silence has taken the place of the hum of busy population. 
The enemy is stealthily creeping on, its presence betrayed 
by no external sign, but there seems to be a fresh and deli- 
cious atmosphere, which they who breathe find to be death. 
No human sagacity can detect it in the transparent air, nor 
any human means arrest its progress. An invisible and 
mysterious agent, it expels man from the region over which 
its M'ing is spread, or he remains only to wither and die. 

But if such continues to be the history of coming years, 
how strange must be the destiny of the Imperial City ! Its 
people will gradually retire before this destroying Spirit, and 
seek in other spots the safety denied them here, until once 
more the Seven Hills become as silent as they were before 
Romulus encamped upon their heights. Then it will re- 
main, like the city of which we read in Arabian fable, whose 
inhabitants in a moment were turned to stone, so that the 
traveller wandered in amazement through Palaces and Halls, 
where none came forth to meet him, and no sound was heard 
but the echo of his own steps. Its mighty monuments will 
stand, like those of Peestum, waste and desolate in their 
grandeur. Spring, and Summer, and Winter will pass over 
the forsaken city — the hoariness of age gather on its marble 
columns and stain its gilded walls — -and Nature, spreading 



334 THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 

her luxuriance over them, and wreathing them each year 
with a thicker drapery, thus silently yet surely reclaim her 
dominion — until at last all on which we now gaze will only 
harmonize with the wild and dreary Campagna around. 

But would not this be a fit conclusion to the long and 
eventful career of the Mistress of the world ? There sefems 
a strange and mysterious awe lingering about her, which 
forbids the thought that she should fall by human agency. 
If, after surviving wars and sieges and conflagrations, she 
must at last be numbered with Nineveh and Babylon, and 
those cities of the Elder World whose names only live in 
history, let there be no proud conqueror rejoicing over her 
end ! Let her not be crushed and humbled by the violence 
of man, but thus pass away " without hands,'^ so that the 
hour can scarcely be marked in which she ceases to exist ! 



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